{"id":49985,"date":"2018-01-23T09:38:26","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T14:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=49985"},"modified":"2021-07-09T16:38:17","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T20:38:17","slug":"mission-accomplished","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2018\/01\/23\/mission-accomplished\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission accomplished"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Air Force veteran Jonathan Granata found a home and the support he needed in Wright State\u2019s Office of Veterans Affairs and later the university\u2019s Veteran and Military Center. He’s now giving back by providing a gift to support the Quiet Study Room in the center.<\/p><\/div>\n

On a wall in the Quiet Study Room inside Wright State University\u2019s Veteran and Military Center is a quote by British historian, academic and author G. M. Trevelyan: \u201cNever tell a young person that anything cannot be done. The universe may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The quote is one of Jonathan Granata\u2019s favorites. When the Air Force veteran and 2015 Wright State graduate provided a gift to support the Quiet Study Room, it seemed only fitting that this quote should grace its walls and inspire student veterans to reach for their dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t stop serving after you\u2019re done serving in the military,\u201d Granata said. \u201cThis is my duty now. It\u2019s my duty to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his gift to the Veteran and Military Center<\/a>, Granata is giving back to the people who helped him when he needed it the most.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place saved me in a lot of ways,\u201d Granata said of the Veteran and Military Center.<\/p>\n

After serving in the Air Force for five years, Granata sometimes struggled with transitioning from combat zones to the classroom. He was older than most of his classmates and had been out of school for seven years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a lot to take on,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

But Granata found a home and the support he needed in Wright State\u2019s Office of Veterans Affairs. The university\u2019s Veteran and Military Center was still in the planning stages at that point, but Granata was immediately embraced by the office\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n

Director Seth Gordan hired Granata as a community engagement coordinator. \u201cDr. Gordon instantly saw something in me,\u201d Granata said.<\/p>\n

In November 2014, the 4,500 square-foot Veteran and Military Center opened at Wright State<\/a>. With about 1,800 square feet dedicated specifically for a student center, the Veteran and Military Center was designed to be a space where veteran and military students could efficiently get the support they needed to process their benefits while also relaxing, studying and socializing with fellow veterans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a place where people can go and feel safe,\u201d said Granata. \u201cYou know everyone in here is a veteran. Most likely, someone in this building has dealt with similar issues. So, you can identify with people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you haven\u2019t seen the Veteran and Military Center,\u201d Granata added, \u201ccome down and check it out. It\u2019s awesome. This should be a model for universities around the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Serving his country<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Granata enlisted in the military, he was continuing the family legacy. Both of his parents served, along with his grandfather and uncle. The military was also an opportunity for Granata to get out and see the world.<\/p>\n

Stationed at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas, Granata served two deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. As a loadmaster on the C\u2013130, Granata supervised the onloading and offloading of all cargo and passengers on the military aircraft. He also ran the fuel systems and monitored the plane for any issues during flight. His most important task was overseeing weight and balance on the aircraft, making sure that everything was within the proper limits and that all cargo was tied down correctly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the first time that I had ever been part of a team,\u201d Granata recalled. \u201cBut it\u2019s not just a crew. It\u2019s like the largest amount of trust that you could ever experience. If one of us makes something go wrong or we get shot at, it\u2019s not just me who loses my life, it\u2019s the whole crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Since graduating from Wright State in 2015, Granata has worked for Student Veterans of America in Washington, D.C., and Accenture as a management consulting analyst.<\/p><\/div>\n

Fortunately, Granata didn\u2019t experience any close calls during his time in the air. What he remembers and values the most from his Air Force service are the lifelong friendships he made and the amazing camaraderie he experienced with his crew.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made me a better person,\u201d he said. \u201cIt made me who I am today. I found out how far I could push myself, both mentally and physically. It taught me what it truly means to be responsible. It taught me leadership and how to really be part of a team. That\u2019s helped me get to where I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n

By experiencing different cultures abroad, Granata became more globally minded. His appreciation for diversity of thought and the personal life experiences that each individual brings to a team led him to Wright State, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Advocating for veterans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following his graduation from Wright State, Granata worked at Student Veterans of America in Washington, D.C. There, he was inspired by the Jared Lyon, the president and CEO, and the organization\u2019s mission to help veterans to, through and beyond college.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat really hit home for me,\u201d Granata said. \u201cThere\u2019s so much value in veterans in college. They\u2019re bringing leadership experience into the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the \u201cNational Veteran Education Success Tracker: A Report on the Academic Success of Student Veterans Using the Post\u20139\/11 GI Bill,\u201d student veterans are more likely to graduate, have a higher GPA and earn degrees in business, the health professions or the STEM disciplines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are literally turning out our future,\u201d Granata said.<\/p>\n

As passionate as he is about higher education for veterans, Granata is also committed to eliminating the misconception that all veterans are either war heroes or broken.<\/p>\n

\u201cNinety-nine percent of us identify in the middle. We\u2019re not broken, but we\u2019re also not war heroes,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just did our jobs and wanted to make it home. We\u2019re just trying to reintegrate into society and contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

After earning a master\u2019s degree in organizational leadership and learning from George Washington University in 2017, Granata went to work for Accenture, a global company that provides strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations services. Granata is a management consulting analyst at the company\u2019s Chicago office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a great culture,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have the freedom to experience across industries. They want you to find what you like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with his family, Granata credits his mentor, Arthur Hansen, commander of the VFW in Huber Heights, and the staff in Wright State\u2019s Veteran and Military Center \u2014 Seth Gordon, Ty Lea Gebhard and Amanda Watkins \u2014 for his current success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout them,\u201d he said, \u201cthis would not be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Air Force veteran Jonathan Granata found a home and the support he needed in Wright State\u2019s Office of Veterans Affairs and later the university\u2019s Veteran and Military Center. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":49993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,4309,4299,2104,2040,744,725,2039,715],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-alumni-association","category-alumni-profile","category-teacher-education","category-giving","category-education-human-services","category-home-news-sidebar","category-military-veterans","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49985"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52832,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49985\/revisions\/52832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}