Speaker
Melanie Laflin
Elementary & Special Education Student
Melanie Laflin is a third-year student at UW–Madison majoring in elementary and special education. Melanie grew up mainly on the West Coast, moving often for her father’s military career. She currently lives in the suburbs of Milwaukee and considers Wisconsin her home. Being a “military brat” is not her only exposure to the military; Melanie is currently serving in the Wisconsin Air National Guard. She signed within the past year and just returned from a semester off for training. In addition to being involved in the Air National Guard, Melanie is also a student leader in Cru, a Christian organization on campus. She leads a military-connected Bible study where two of her identities can coexist within a space and allow that space for other students on campus. Outside of school and other commitments, her interests include volunteering, reading, flying, and traveling!
Speaking in
Towards Constructing Military-Connected Student Inclusion: A Student Panel and Discussion
Similar to a few other large, public institutions, UW-Madison’s history is inextricably intertwined with that of the nation’s military. This highlights the critical importance in supporting the unique needs of student veterans, service members, and family members. Supporting military-connected students requires learning more about military-connected identities and experiences. Often presenting in invisible ways, military-connected identities can be obscured by other aspects of student identity. Working towards inclusive environments for military-connected students at UW-Madison becomes possible once prepared to understand the transformative power of community.
This session seeks to elevate current military-connected student stories and provide support for them to voice their experiences. A student panel of current UW-Madison military-connected students is central to the focus of this session.
Session Objectives
- Learn about trends in military-connected student populations
- Build empowerment to better support military-connected students