Mentoring Veterans
Building a Long-Term Support Network


Faculty members from the Harvard MRSEC have initiated a coordinated effort to recruit 2-3 veterans each summer to carry out research at the Center, with a focus on building a long-term support network. Kit Parker, a Major in the U.S. Army who has been deployed multiple times to Afghanistan, spearheads the effort. The veterans from Bunker Hill Community College in Boston continue their research part-time during the academic year and receive guidance on transferring to 4-year colleges and career planning. REU students are partnered with fellow veterans (graduate students, faculty, and staff) as research and informal mentors. All the veterans who have participated in the REU are currently enrolled undergraduates in STEM fields, or have completed STEM degrees and are employed in technical fields, pursuing advanced STEM degrees, or in active military service.

David A. Weitz (Physics & Applied Physics)
Harvard MRSEC (DMR-1420570)