The George Washington University celebrated Veterans Day with a ceremony Wednesday morning, gathering in a packed Grand Ballroom at the University Student Center to honor the service, sacrifice and leadership of veterans in the university community and beyond.
“Veterans Day carries special weight at GW, considering how closely the university's mission is tied to the life of our nation and the strength of our democracy,” President Ellen M. Granberg said.
Experiences during military service “shape how veterans approach challenges, lead teams, mentor others and contribute to the public good,” Granberg continued. “You challenge us to think carefully about leadership, responsibility, teamwork and what it means to serve something larger than ourselves. And these are lessons that benefit an entire university community…We are better for having you among us.”
GW is home to more than 1,100 military-affiliated students, including veterans, active duty servicemembers and military family members. Veterans also make essential contributions as members of faculty and staff, including Vice President for Safety and Operations Baxter Goodly, a 28-year U.S. Navy veteran who emceed Wednesday’s ceremony alongside Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Colette Coleman.
The event’s keynote was delivered by U.S. Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), B.A. ’94, founder of GW’s Cisneros Institute, who won reelection to his third term in Congress last week. The Cisneros Institute celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2025.
Cisneros joined the U.S. Navy immediately after his high school graduation, seeing it as a path forward when college did not feel like an option: “It wasn’t something people in my family did.” His path changed over his time in service, with the encouragement of a mentor who urged him to enter officer selection training. After completing that program, he earned an ROTC scholarship that would take him to college after all.
Knowing he wanted to study political science and feeling there was no better place to do so than Washington, D.C., Cisneros applied to GW. His acceptance included a financial aid package for veterans that would cover his room and board.
“I am glad the journey began right here at the George Washington University,” Cisneros said. “I am forever thankful for the opportunity I was given here, for being a part of the GW N[aval] ROTC unit that still exists today, and that GW has been able to provide educational opportunities to service members and veterans alike.”
Cisneros also discussed veterans’ initiatives he has championed in Congress. As the son of a Vietnam War veteran who struggled for decades with the effects of toxic substance exposure and undiagnosed PTSD, Cisneros said he sees it as a calling to ensure that younger generations of those who serve are better treated.
“As I look to future generations of service members—some of you are in this room right now— we must build a future for them, a future built with better health care, better conditions and better outcomes, and a future of care that is truly worthy of our nation's heroes,” he said.
“I've been lucky to have been given the opportunity to dedicate my life to public service through my time in Congress and the military, and I've made it my mission to use that luck in life to invest in our service members, the way people invested in me.”
Prior to Cisneros’ remarks, the ceremony opened with a presentation of the colors by GW’s Naval ROTC, the same unit in which Cisneros served as a student; a performance of the National Anthem by Adjunct Professor of Music Millicent Scarlett; and an opening invocation by Talib Shareef, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran and president and imam of the Nation's Mosque in Washington, D.C. A brass band led by Adjunct Professor of Music and Director of Bands Michael Schmitz provided accompaniment throughout.
In his own remarks, GW Veterans President Juan Jaramillo, a senior in the Elliott School of International Affairs, shared his perspective as an immigrant to the United States and his pride in being part of the community of those who have served.
“Every single one of us…took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” he said. “For someone like me who came to this country as an immigrant, that oath has a meaning that is difficult to put into words. I was not born in the United States, but I had the privilege of serving it, and I will never take that for granted.”
GW Vets represents a diverse coalition of members from many different backgrounds, cultures and political points of view, Jaramillo said, and they may disagree on many points, “but the one thing we can agree on is that we want our community to thrive.”
“I want GW Veterans to be a community where nobody is forgotten, where nobody goes alone, where we celebrate our successes, help each other through challenges and remind one another that we still belong,” Jaramillo said. “I hope that is something we can all carry and remember today on Veterans Day.”
(Photos by William Atkins)
