<p>A new student organization forming on the Harrisburg campus aims to be a resource for veteran students and students with connections to veterans.<br /><br />The budding Widener University Harrisburg Veterans Association is being met with enthusiastic support. Organized by first-year student and Iraq veteran Mary Jorgensen, the group is intended to serve veteran students, and students who have veterans in their families, or who are supporters of veterans. Its goal is to make sure veterans are aware of government benefits entitled to them, and ensure that they &ndash; or the ones they love &ndash; are using them properly.<br /><br />&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an open law school group. It&rsquo;s not just for veteran students,&rdquo; Jorgensen said. &ldquo;There is room under our umbrella for many voices.&rdquo;<br /><br />Jorgensen is an Army second lieutenant, now in the National Guard. She did one tour in Iraq while her husband did two tours there and another in Afghanistan. She is an extended-division student and works in mobilization planning as a force integration readiness analyst at Fort Indiantown Gap. She is one of 13 veterans who study on the Harrisburg campus.<br /><br />Fellow students Mary Greenwood-Drumheller, a veteran, and Andrew Hollis, a veteran supporter, are working with her.<br /><br />The group is in the final stages of completing its paperwork to be an official organization through the Student Bar Association, and it is seeking a faculty advisor. For now, Jorgensen said, they are operating under the wing of the Public Interest Law Society. The idea for a student veterans association was met with immediate support. Jorgensen said the school required 25 signatures on new-organization paperwork, to demonstrate interest. The group obtained 76 signatures in about 90 minutes.<br /><br />&ldquo;This is a fantastic idea,&rdquo; Dean of Students Keith Sealing&nbsp;said. &ldquo;It makes sense on so many levels. Widener University began as Pennsylvania Military College, so we have a natural inclination, institutionally, to support our veterans. But it&rsquo;s also a terrific way for veteran students &ndash; or students who are closely related to veterans &ndash; to band together and support one another. They understand and appreciate the unique perspective that comes from a life involving military service.&rdquo;<br /><br />The group set up a table in The Pit on Veterans Day, where they served sandwiches, drinks and snacks and gave the entire school community an opportunity to say &lsquo;thank you&rsquo; to those who&rsquo;ve served our nation. &ldquo;We had a big outpouring from other students,&rdquo; Jorgensen said. <br /><br />Now, the group is coordinating a giving tree program with the Salvation Army. Volunteers hung angels in The Pit to encourage the school community to shop for the less fortunate and brighten the holiday season. Jorgensen said gifts are being accepted through Dec. 8. The project is a first step for a group that hopes to branch out with other service ideas, including volunteer work at the Lebanon VA Medical Center in Lebanon, Pa.<br /><br />&ldquo;We are a service driven people. As veterans we want to give back,&rdquo; Jorgensen said.</p>