Jon Segars named Student Veterans of America (SVA) Chapter Advisor of the Year

Jon Segars, director of the University of Georgia Student Veterans Resource Center, was named as the Student Veterans of America (SVA) Chapter Advisor of the Year. Presented during the SVA’s 17th Annual National Conference (NATCON) in Colorado Springs, this award acknowledges the exceptional mentorship, service, and advocacy by a campus staff or faculty member to an SVA chapter as an advisor.

SVA NATCON is designed to engage the world-wide community of chapter leaders, students, and supporters who come together under one roof each year to share and learn how to better serve our student veterans. SVA itself acts as a catalyst for student veteran success and for the success of more than 1600 chapters by providing resources, network support and a representative voice for those in higher education and beyond.

“This award is a testament to the consummate work of the entire UGA community in caring for our student veterans,” said Segars. “Our veterans are the best of the best and deserve our gratitude and untiring service every day.”

Segars follows a long list of student veteran national champions, and in his three years as the director of the UGA Student Veterans Resource Center (SVRC), has had six students receive national leadership awards; Caleb Ray (BS ’23), Caitlyn Davis (BS ’23), Brennen Sanders, (BS ’24), Chris King (MBA ’24), current SVA chapter engagement officer Gabriella Castillo and current SVA chapter president Dan Triplett.

Segars also notes that his predecessor, Ted Barco, was the SVA Chapter Advisor of the Year for 2020 and that UGA has been named the #1 Military Friendly® tier 1 research institution three times since 2017.

“Success and winning on the national stage are part of being a Bulldog, but all glory is fleeting,” said Segars. “We are great because we hang the banners and then immediately get back to work. So, that is how we are starting 2025.”

The UGA SVRC serves more than 350 student veterans on four UGA campuses and online. For more information about how to support these students, please see Give – Student Veterans Resource Center.