Veteran president answers call of duty 
April 23, 2009 by Haley Etchison
After a year of progress on behalf of student veterans at UNLV, leader puts campus on national stage
Now executive director of the UNLV Student Veterans Organization, Michael Dakduk enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Rancho High School.
No stranger to serving his country, this campus leader is stepping into the national spotlight.
Public administration major Michael Dakduk, 23, who has served as president of the UNLV Student Veterans Organization for the past year, was elected vice president of the national organization Student Veterans of America.
“It’s so great not for me but for UNLV,” Dakduk said, “and not only for student veterans but for our campus. It’s going to show people we’re doing amazing things at UNLV.”
Dakduk has stepped down as president and yielded the post to former SVO vice president Antonio Montenegro. Montenegro’s seat will be filled by Reuben D’Silva, a purple heart recipient and active member of the organization.
Dakduk, who was the runner up in a race of five candidates, took the position Sunday at the organization’s national conference in San Francisco after Northeastern Illinois University graduate student Rodrigo Garcia declined appointment.
“This is a testament to student veterans across our nation,” Dakduk said. “[Garcia] got up and said you know what we are the biggest region and I’m sure that’s why I got voted in as vice president. We’re not going to move forward as an organization unless I step down.”
Dakduk explained that having a vice president from the western U.S. will add diversity and perspective to the SVA. Compared to the more than 30 chapters of the SVA in California, Nevada’s two organizations are a small minority. But with Dakduk’s appointment the student veterans of Nevada are likely have a louder voice.
Garcia will serve as one of Dakduk’s advisers in his new role in the national association.
As vice president of the national organization, Dakduk will help the SVA grow and advocate on behalf of student veterans nationally, but he will remain involved in the SVO at UNLV.
“I also have to work with UNLV in changing certain policies and making this campus more veteran-friendly,” he said. Dakduk outlined some of the ways UNLV can improve its policies to accommodate its student veterans.
“Other campuses have orientation programs specific to people who have just left the military or have been in combat,” he said, explaining that such a program would be a great addition to UNLV.
“We have different benefits we get on campus,” he said, telling how it is important for student veterans to be prepared for the challenges they will face as nontraditional students and informed about the services and programs they can expect.
Dakduk also mentioned the possibility of creating policies at UNLV that would allow veterans to transfer their military credits toward their degrees.
“I served in Iraq and Afghanistan so I’ve been overseas for over a year,” Dakduk said, “but none of my military credits fulfill my university requirement.”
Antonio Montenegro, who has taken over the presidency of the SVO, said his goals in office will continue the efforts Dakduk began.
“Its not really changing too much at all,” he said. “Me and [Dakduk] and the executive board have already been a strong team. You could switch the titles of any of us and everything would keep progressing the way it has.”
Adding to the vision Dakduk set for the organization, Montenegro said he would like to see priority course registration become available for student veterans and the formation of a place in CSUN for a representative of student veterans and nontraditional students.
As vice president of the SVO, Reuben D’Silva expects to take on a more active role in making changes at UNLV. Having served as executive director for the past year, he said his main goal in the new post to be as determined as Dakduk has been and to continue his mission in the SVO.
“The entire focus of the SVO right now is to get a memorial put up on campus,” D’Silva said. He hopes to see a monument set up near the Carlson Education Building by Veterans Day.
“It’s been a long time coming to have something like this in Las Vegas,” he said.
“Another goal of ours is to increase our membership,” D’Silva said, explaining that participation rose from 10 members to 103 under Dakduk’s leadership and saying 150 would be a good goal for next year.
A Las Vegas native and graduate of Rancho High School, Dakduk finished high school a year early and traveled to New York City to see the aftermath of Sept. 11 before enlisting in the Marine Corps.
Dakduk will remain involved in making improvements at UNLV as executive director of the SVO.
ON THE WEB:
Student Veterans of America:
UNLV Student Veterans
Organization:
Congratulations to you Michael, and to everyone at UNLV. What a great addition to the university, the veterans, and especially to the Veterens Organization. Best wishes to all of you now and the future.
Way to go Mike. If anyone can do the job, it’s you. I have never seen a Marine not do what he said would or could. As commandant of the Greater Las Vegas Marine Corps League, I will commit to help in any way we can. There is nothing better for a Marine than assisting them in achieving their assigned mission. Well done.
SEMPER FI,
CaptJack
Congrats and well deserved!