Student veteran Priscilla Cruz ’24 chose to attend Syracuse University in part because of its long-standing commitment to being the best place for veterans.
Priscilla Cruz ’24 joined the U.S. Army when she was 17 years old. Utilizing the split training option her junior year, she completed her basic combat training that summer and her advanced individual training the summer after her senior year. She currently serves in the Army Reserve as a logistics officer and is preparing to graduate with a degree in information management and technology from Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies (iSchool) and start the next phase of her career. Now she’s taking her experience as a student veteran, a member of the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University Libraries and a community service volunteer with her.
How did your military experience influence your decision to attend Syracuse University?
Cruz joined the U.S. Army when she was 17 years old and currently serves in the Army Reserve as a logistics officer.
I’ve had a great role model in my uncle, who is a military veteran. I saw how it benefited his life. He attributes a lot of his success to the military because it instilled discipline, leadership and many great skills that he took into his civilian career. I can attest to the same outcome with the skills I’ve acquired.
After the military, I went to Valley Forge Military College, where I did ROTC, studied security studies and received a cybersecurity certificate. Then, when I decided to pursue further education, I chose Syracuse. Not only did Syracuse have the program I wanted but it’s military friendly. I did some research and saw that so many Syracuse alumni were also veterans, and that was attractive to me.
Why did you choose to study information management and technology?
When I came to Syracuse, I knew I wanted to be in the tech space because I really enjoyed learning about innovative technologies. Eventually, I decided to focus on web design—I’ve always had an interest in designing things. I took classes in front end web development and thoroughly enjoyed it.
My favorite class was Information Reporting and Presentation with Professor Bruce Kingma. He’s been really influential, and he truly cares about his students. He brought my presentation and public speaking skills to another level. Professor Kingma’s class on innovation, design and startups taught me the fundamentals of how to produce an idea to start a business. It helped me with my work at the Blackstone LaunchPad.
Cruz is graduating with a degree in information management and technology from the School of Information Studies.
Tell us about your experience at the Blackstone LaunchPad and the app you developed there.
Not only does Cruz work at the Blackstone LaunchPad, but she was also a member of Re-Mend, an app that makes fashion more accessible for people with physical disabilities and that combats textile waste.
My job on campus as a business operations team leader at the Blackstone LaunchPad at Bird Library also helped my transition. I made friends with traditional students, learned how to manage a team and felt like I was a part of something.
At the Blackstone LaunchPad, I joined a team working on a venture named Re-Mend. The team consists of Peyton Sefick, a U.S. Power Soccer National Team member, Rabia Razzaq G’23, the founder, and Kai Patricio G’23, the co-founder. Our mission is to make fashion more accessible for people with physical disabilities and to combat textile waste. But it’s not just for people with disabilities, it’s for all people. Our app, Re-Mend, connects users with local tailors to repurpose, restyle and reuse garments. It works like this: Say you want to change your shirt into a hat—you can do that by inputting your idea and information into the app and then sending it to the tailor to create. With the app, we’re also tackling the fast fashion industry—rather than buying something new, users can repurpose garments they already own.
What has your experience as a student veteran been like?
It was tough in the beginning due to the difficulty of some classes, being away from family and being new to the area, so I tried to immerse myself in the resources to avoid driving home every weekend— there’s just so much offered in Syracuse, not just the University, but also in the community. For example, I volunteer with the Food Recovery Network, which donates leftover food from the dining halls to local homeless shelters/food banks. I’m motivated to do these things that maybe no one sees but are meaningful. I feel like that’s my calling.
Cruz says her calling is to make meaningful contributions to the community. She volunteers with the Food Recovery Network, which donates leftover food from the dining halls to local homeless shelters/food banks.
I didn’t know how much the National Veterans Resource Center (NVRC) had to offer when I first started here! I started going to events there, like the etiquette dinner and career building events, and I met a lot of student veterans. There are so many resources inside and outside the NVRC—I’ve never been so appreciative of something in my life. I’ve grown so much as a person here. I don’t think I would’ve gotten this type of boost in confidence, professional skills and personal skills anywhere else.
