United in gratitude: Heidelberg honors veterans on its Founders Day

The convergence of Veterans Day and Heidelberg University’s 175th anniversary today created a powerful opportunity to pause in reflection and gratitude, honoring both the service and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans and HU’s legacy.

The Heidelberg community hosted its annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Tangeman Veterans Memorial at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – the end of World War I in 1918 – welcoming community members and especially local veterans. Heidelberg’s Student Senate and Parkhurst Dining co-sponsored the program.

Together, we honored veterans with words of gratitude and music, the Presentation of Colors and a Volley of Three by the United Veterans Council, and a special keynote address by U.S. Navy veteran Victoria Black, who is serving as Heidelberg’s Chief Human Resources and Compliance Officer.

In his opening remarks, Heidelberg President Rob Huntington shared a brief history of Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day in commemoration of the end of World War I. In 1954, the holiday was renamed Veterans Day to honor all military veterans.

“We stand with deep respect for the service and sacrifice that so many Americans have made to defend our country's values and interests,” Rob said. “We pause today to show our profound gratitude for current military and veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.” In all, 14.5 million of 41 million U.S. veterans are still with us.

Journey comes full circle

Victoria shared her story as a Petty Officer Third Class Logistics Specialist, stationed for two years at a Naval Special Warfare Command with a team of Navy Seals and Special Forces, and two years on the USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier. During that time, she was deployed for 10½ months.

As a high school student, Victoria met with a recruiter and planned to enlist upon graduation. But Mr. Black – Victoria’s husband, Alex – had other plans. “Alex proposed the weekend before we graduated high school. I’m guessing he thought that was going to prevent me from joining the military,” she shared. But she had her mind made up.

Being overwhelmed from attending a large public institution and working four part-time jobs to make ends meet, Victoria found herself at Owens Community College, a better fit for this small-town girl. She landed a job in Owens’ Veterans Services Office, where she helped connect students with the resources they needed to succeed. “I fell in love with hearing their stories about how many different places around the world they had traveled,” she said. That burning desire to serve was rekindled.

With her husband’s support, Victoria enlisted and left for bootcamp in May 2010. “I was scared out of my mind,” she recalled. “It was the first time I had been away from family, the first time I had flown on an airplane, and the first time I had experienced a grown man aggressively yelling in my face.”

Victoria graduated bootcamp at the top of her class and headed to Mississippi for schooling. Soon after, she received orders to Virginia Beach. “I had it made, getting paid to work out for the first two hours of each workday, attending college classes on base and living on a beach.”

Her mindset changed when she was assigned to the USS Harry Truman with 6,000 other soldiers. Through her deployment, she visited six countries, yet her enjoyment had started to fade, primarily because she was unable to work on her degree at this command. After four years, she departed the Navy in search of her purpose – helping people.

Arriving home, Victoria’s mom asked her what her plans were. “In that moment, all I could think about was how much I wanted to finally be able to eat good pizza again,” she joked. But her mom helped her gain clarity for her next chapter. She kept reflecting back to her favorite job at Owens, helping to connect veteran students with resources.  She finished her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, switching majors to Human Resources. “It was a field that I thought I could turn my personal passion into a professional career, and it worked,” she said.

Today, she is “a proud veteran of the world’s finest Navy and proud to work at Heidelberg University.”

Tributes in song, prayer
Heidelberg’s ceremony included the singing of the National Anthem by senior Emma Raber and Lift Every Voice and Sing by junior Zaria Keys. The ceremony concluded with a prayer from CRU President and senior Bryant Pfeiffer and closing remarks, thank-yous, and a tribute to his great-grandfather and grandfather, both veterans, by Student Senate President Ethan Rieman.

Demisemiseptcentennial celebrated

In honor of the 175th anniversary of its founding, Heidelberg has held celebratory events for the last 16 months, leading up to Founders Day today. The culmination of the celebration included the Veterans Day ceremony, a full-on birthday party for students in the new Frann’s Fieldhouse, and a one-night-only performance by comedy legend and ‘Berg alum Brian Regan at Tiffin’s Ritz Theatre. Hundreds came together to watch the ’80 grad on stage. He generously donated the proceeds from all ticket sales back to his Sweet Alma Home.