NEW ALBANY, IN (Nov. 6, 2012) – The Indiana University Southeast Student Veterans Organization placed second in a statewide student veterans Hall of Fame Competition.

IU Southeast joined five other award-winning student veterans’ organizations (SVOs) on Oct. 27 to compete in an invitation-only SVO Hall of Fame Competition aimed at showcasing the talents and achievements Indiana’s best SVOs.

IU Southeast received an award of $2,000, made possible by the Lilly Endowment, for their achievements. The money is granted to help the IU Southeast SVO with development and ground-breaking programming.

Students presented to a panel of expert judges before a live audience at the NCAA Hall of Champions in downtown Indianapolis. The event, organized by the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University (MFRI), was the culmination of previously-held grant competitions sponsored by Operation Diploma, MFRI’s post-secondary education initiative. SVO leaders had the opportunity to demonstrate their achievements, lessons learned and promising practices to the judging panel, as well as to an audience of their peers, mentors, and supporters.

Since September 2009, Operation Diploma has sponsored the Operation Diploma Student Veterans’ Organization (SVO) Organizational Plan Competition. The event aims to help SVO members hone entrepreneurial skills and fund local initiatives through grants of up to $2,000. Judges evaluated SVO presentations based on criteria that included quality of mission, clarity of initiatives, and a commitment to sustainability based on their presentations. Grants totaling more than $60,000 have been awarded through these competitions.

SVO Hall of Fame competitors were chosen from the highly-ranked participants in those events. In addition to the SVO at IU Southeast, organizations from Ball State University, Ivy Tech Bloomington, Ivy Tech Sellersburg, Purdue University, and University of Evansville participated.