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Waubonsee Community College invites students, faculty, and community members to honor military service members at its annual Veterans Day Observance on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 10:45 a.m. The ceremony will take place in the Academic and Professional Center on the Sugar Grove Campus, located at Route 47 and Waubonsee Drive. The public event is free and open to all.
This year’s keynote address will be delivered by Waubonsee student Nathanel Welter, of Plano, a U.S. Navy veteran and current President of the Waubonsee Veterans Club. After graduating from Plano High School and taking coursework at Waubonsee in 2019, Welter enlisted in the U.S. Navy as an Electronics Technician Nuclear and Reactor Operator.
During six years of active duty, Welter completed two deployments aboard two nuclear submarines—the USS Albany and the USS Columbus—and earned four Navy Achievement Medals. Upon returning to Waubonsee to pursue a degree in Cybersecurity, Welter stepped into student leadership to advocate for fellow veterans.
"I’m deeply grateful for how Waubonsee gives back to the veterans who gave so much for their country," said Welter. "After one military contract or twenty years, veterans typically have families, lives, and life experiences. Waubonsee allows Veterans to navigate college life and further their education while balancing these things while also being able to apply their experience in the classroom as experienced mentors and mature classmates for their younger peers. In both the military and college, success depends on community, shared knowledge, and adaptability—or as we say in the Navy, “Semper Gumby (Always Flexible)”
The observance will also feature the posting of the colors by the West Aurora High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps color guard and a special musical performance by the Waubonsee Chorale Director and Adjunct Instructor of Music, Holly Schmidt and Accompanist and Adjunct Instructor of Music HaeRim Yoo.
