Standing on stage at The Kennedy Center singing to an audience of veterans, I realized my future accounting degree could combine my career with a valuable cause. After previously taking a high school finance course, I wanted to major in accounting. However, it was not until I participated in the 2015 National Memorial Day Choral Festival that I knew how to use it to serve those who have already served.
When my choir director revealed the 2015 trip destination, I was overjoyed in anticipation of experiencing the nation’s capital for the first time in my life. As my choir started learning the festival music, I was awestruck by the dark lyrics of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ cantata “Dona Nobis Pacem” and inspired by others such as Mark Wilberg’s “Let Peace Then Still the Strife”. The lyrics were remarkable, but only seeing them as sheet music at the time, I did not entirely appreciate them or the veterans whom the songs revered.
After twenty-four continuous hours on the charter bus, we exited in Virginia to visit the Arlington National Cemetery. As stone gray clouds loomed over us, the skies were casting a somber light over the graves. Though the cemetery was silent, …show more content…
Veterans often encounter challenges when they return home, some main issues being unemployment, mental health concerns and homelessness; The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans reports “12% of the homeless adult population are veterans.” In terms of numbers rather than a percentage, “the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that 49,933 veterans are homeless on any given night”, any way you look at it, the total of homeless veterans is unacceptable. It is troubling that America’s daunting and courageous soldiers find themselves with nowhere to return to after duty. Fortunately, there are nonprofit organizations that specialize in aiding veterans with problems they may face upon their
When my choir director revealed the 2015 trip destination, I was overjoyed in anticipation of experiencing the nation’s capital for the first time in my life. As my choir started learning the festival music, I was awestruck by the dark lyrics of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ cantata “Dona Nobis Pacem” and inspired by others such as Mark Wilberg’s “Let Peace Then Still the Strife”. The lyrics were remarkable, but only seeing them as sheet music at the time, I did not entirely appreciate them or the veterans whom the songs revered.
After twenty-four continuous hours on the charter bus, we exited in Virginia to visit the Arlington National Cemetery. As stone gray clouds loomed over us, the skies were casting a somber light over the graves. Though the cemetery was silent, …show more content…
Veterans often encounter challenges when they return home, some main issues being unemployment, mental health concerns and homelessness; The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans reports “12% of the homeless adult population are veterans.” In terms of numbers rather than a percentage, “the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that 49,933 veterans are homeless on any given night”, any way you look at it, the total of homeless veterans is unacceptable. It is troubling that America’s daunting and courageous soldiers find themselves with nowhere to return to after duty. Fortunately, there are nonprofit organizations that specialize in aiding veterans with problems they may face upon their