Student Veterans of America – UIC Chapter
The purpose of Student Veterans of America - UIC Chapter shall be to foster a community that can assist student veterans and their dependents at UIC to identify and utilize the resources available to them to advocate for their success in academics, career development, and social integration.
Primary Student Veterans of America contact: Noah Lesher: nlesh2@uic.edu
Noah Lesher Heading link
Noah Lesher
President
My name is Noah Lesher. I am a prior member of the Illinois Army National Guard and a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa. I am in my senior year studying finance at UIC. As a Guardsman, I was awarded active-duty orders and the opportunity to attend Ranger School after basic training. Shortly after starting Ranger training, a medical setback would change my course and send me home to Illinois. After two years of full-time work, I was activated and deployed to Africa as part of a task force stationed at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. On that deployment my injuries would resurface and eventually see to me being medically separated from my contract. Knowing my military story was going to be cut short, I turned to UIC to prepare me for the next chapter. Why does this story matter? Being a disabled veteran, a veteran of a combat operation, and a veteran from the state of Illinois, I have had experience navigating nearly all categories of veteran benefits. As president, I hope to share my experience and provide the student veterans of UIC every bit of information on how to discover, extend, and effectively access their well-deserved benefits. If you are a veteran, the son or daughter of a veteran, or just want to support our vets, please do not hesitate to reach out to me and keep an eye out for events that we will be hosting throughout the year. What our veteran community needs now is a strong network to help them achieve their academic and professional aspirations. I hope you consider adding to that network!
Brandon Wilson Heading link
Brandon Wilson
Director of Student Activities
My name is Brandon Wilson, and I served in the United States Army from 2018 – 2023. I joined the Army as an Infantryman (11B), and finished my career as a Paralegal Noncommissioned Officer (27D). As a born and raised Chicagoan, UIC has always been my number one school to attend upon achieving a higher education. Currently, I am a third year Communication student as well as pursuing a minor in Business Administration. But how did I get here? Graduating High School, I had two options: Attend community college at my own expense, or find a way to fulfill my dream of attending a 4-year university. This was the main reason I decided to raise my right hand and enlist into the US Military. Little did I know, my enlistment has brought me many more opportunities than just a free education; including, but not only, this position in which I hold. Being a Veteran has jump started my life, and our team of officers within the SVA are committed to ensuring our fellow Veterans can say the same in regards to their pursuit for a higher education. As Director of Student Activities, I am excited to meet and get to know anyone and everyone who supports our mission. Go Flames!
Timothy Sanabria Heading link
Timothy Robert Sanabria
Treasurer
My name is Timothy Robert Sanabria. I am a proud UIC senior majoring in Finance and minoring in International Business. I served six years in the U.S. Army National Guard as an infantryman and deployed to Qatar in support of Operation Spartan Shield (July 2020 to April 2021). Though my enlistment has ended, my professional aspirations have gravitated toward serving the nation in a different capacity. I now work with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a government agency charged with ensuring the “safety and soundness” of the national banking system. As such, I have firsthand experience navigating the civilian federal employment process. If you are interested in federal employment or internships feel free to reach out, and I can assist where possible.
It is a distinct honor and a privilege to have been chosen as Treasurer of the SVA UIC Chapter. If you are interested in joining SVA, please reach out! It’s always good to connect with fellow veterans and leverage our shared experiences to succeed in this ever-changing world.
If I had to give advice, I would first start by recognizing the fact that it is not always easy communicating our skills and experience in a manner that is attractive to civilian employment. I would then say that what is desirable to employers is already inherent in all of us. We’re all familiar with terms and qualities like “attention to detail”, “integrity”, “selfless service”, and so on. These traits have been instilled in us from the first “corrective action” received at basic training to the last day reporting in uniform. All you have to do is channel that which is already yours and seize the opportunity.