ARIZONA CAMPUS
IMPROVING CAMPUS WHILE ADVOCATING FOR VETERANS
Eagles Champion the Field and Academics The 2023-24 season was one for the books for Prescott’s men’s baseball and women’s softball teams, as they both secured conference championship titles. For the third season in a row, our softball team won the California Pacific Conference (CALPAC) regular season and conference tournament and were one of 48 teams moving on to the NAIA Softball National Championship. Though they were eliminated after a narrow 1-0 game, 16 women from the team were named NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athletes for maintaining cumulative GPAs above 3.5. Our baseball team won their first-ever CALPAC championship, sending them to the NAIA Baseball National Championship. The Eagles didn’t take home the trophy, but we are proud to have two conference champion teams grace our fields! Additionally, 10 baseball players were also recognized as NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athletes.
When Vincent Becerra (’24) arrived on campus as a U.S. Air Force veteran at age 22, college life took some getting used to. Now, he’s working with the Student Veterans Organization to make the transition easier for future student veterans. The Industrial/Organizational Psychology student’s work with veterans started with becoming the veteran orientation leader, but his responsibilities quickly grew. Becerra’s work in the Veterans Office on campus includes offering support resources, providing assistance finding housing and advocating for change on campus. He’s passionate about helping veterans transition from military life to college life, which brings unique challenges that many students don’t understand.
“Something that the vets don’t consider when transitioning is you’ll run into people that won’t relate to you and might not appreciate what you did in the way that you want them to, and that’s okay,” Becerra said. Student veterans’ struggles differ greatly from those of traditional-aged college students. Their struggles often include missing important family events while deployed for months at a time or losing friends to war — experiences that many 18-year-olds can’t fathom. “Less than 1% of the population joins the military, and of that small population, only a few of us then go to college … and fewer of us ever finish college,” Becerra said. By being a part of that small percentage, Becerra is subverting societal norms and aiming to help more veterans break the mold.
Noah Tschopp ’26 Aeronautical Science
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