A community of support for military family members

By GRACE HOGGARTH '22 on April 14, 2024

From time zone differences and international moves to the challenges of growing up as military dependents, Latavia Edwards ‘24 and Kiera Robinson ’24, formed a friendship in middle school that has stood the test of time. With the help of Rebecca Cossaboom ’19, ‘21, assistant director of the TU Military & Veterans Center (MVC), the two used their passion for advocacy and community development to create the Military & Veterans Center Family & Affiliated Members organization.

Edwards and Robinson attended the Fort Meade Summer Day Camp, designed for active military members' dependents. Moving from Illinois, Edwards was looking for community. When she met Robinson, the pair became fast friends and attended the camp every summer until the end of high school.

Like many, Edwards and Robinson’s parents met through the military. Edwards comes from a long line of military family members, with her parents, step-parents and extended family members serving across the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. Similarly, Robinson’s parents served in the Army.

When it was time for Edwards to move to Bahrain with her parents, she and Robinson made it their mission to remain close and to support each other.

“We’ve been friends since the 7^th grade. Our friendship survived across different time zones—we're locked in for life,” says Edwards.

For Edwards and Robinson, balancing life with two active military parents was extremely challenging. With each of their parents on deployment for varying lengths of time, they missed out on sharing important milestones.

Military family members are not widely recognized, but events like Purple Up! Day, a day for people to wear purple to show support and thank military children for their strength and sacrifices, seek to honor and acknowledge the support, sacrifice and resilience of military family members.

“I received a certificate of appreciation from the Navy for being a military child. They recognized that I served as well,” says Edwards, “Being able to acknowledge not only military veterans or active duty but military families as well is very important.”

To help those like them, Edwards and Robinson helped develop a first of its kind program in Maryland called MVC FAM. MVC FAM is open to military dependents, spouses and veterans and aims to build a resource-rich, inclusive community.

“We want to bring more awareness to military and veteran families and people who need the resources from the government as well,” says Robinson. “There are not a lot of students who know about the resources they are able to receive.”

Resources range from financial assistance to emotional and mental health services, which Robinson hopes students will become more aware of through MVC FAM.

Inspiration for this organization came when Edwards asked herself where at TU she could find other students with experiences like hers. When she noticed a gap in community connection for military family members, she jumped at the opportunity to work with Robinson and Cossaboom to start a student organization on campus.

MVC FAM is Edwards and Robinson’s way of showing other military family members at TU that they are seen, heard and valued.

“I saw a need for it. If I see something that needs to be addressed, I address it,” says Edwards, “So I talked to Kiera, and I said, ‘You know what Kiera, let’s get it done.’”

As student leaders on campus, Edwards and Robinson are passionate about community building and resource awareness. With Robinson serving as the team lead for the Healthy and Diverse Minds Peer Education Program and Edwards as director of health and wellness for SGA, the two are no strangers to problem solving and solutions development.

Edwards and Robinson serve as peer educators within MVC FAM to make students aware of the resources available to them through the Military & Veterans Center and through the state. Their goal is to assist dependents and family members who are eligible for Veterans Affairs benefits with processing those benefits. They also seek to create an environment for military-connected students who may need mental health support or accessibility accommodations. 

“I am in this role to further bridge mental health and well-being support for not only the veteran and active-duty community at TU but the family members of those who served,” says Cossaboom. “Our office understands the unique experiences of military family members and recognizes their experiences prior to TU may greatly differ than those of their non-military-connected peers. Hopefully MVC FAM will help these students connect and enhance their overall experiences at TU.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared 2024 as the Year for Military Families and shared a legislation package to support Maryland military spouses, service members and more. Information on this package as well as additional TU resources and support can be found through the MVC FAM and the Military and Veterans Center.

Resources for military family members

• If you’re eligible for Veterans Affairs benefits, click here.
• Call Rebecca Cossaboom at 410-704-3094 or email her if you have any questions about resources or just to connect.