‘Our mission may have changed, but our commitment has not’

CSUB holds Veterans Day celebration at Runner Park

By California State University, Bakersfield

November 10^th, 2025

California State University, Bakersfield celebrated its veteran students, faculty and staff on Thursday in recognition of Veterans Day on Nov. 11.

The event, held in Runner Park in partnership with Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 97, featured a ceremony with several speakers, a resource fair and live music provided by the Veterans Family Band.

“Veterans Day is a time to pause, reflect and express our deep gratitude to those who have defended our freedoms, protected our way of life and stood ready to answer the call of duty whenever our country needed them,” said Veterans Success Center Coordinator Jamie Pacheco. “Their courage, sacrifice and unwavering commitment remind us that the freedoms we enjoy every day are not free — they are earned through the dedication and service of our veterans and their families.”

One of CSUB’s student veterans is Robert Hunt, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2011 to 2020. He is a graduate student who also holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the university. Hunt has worked as a staff member in the Veterans Success Center for the past four years.

“Since coming to CSUB and working at the Veterans Success Center, I’ve met a lot of veterans — all different, yet strangely the same,” he said. “Even across different branches and different experiences, we share the same bond of serving in the United States military. Experiences like these helped me find a good community here at CSUB.”

In addition to honoring veterans on campus, Thursday’s ceremony also featured the announcement of a new partnership between CSUB and VFW Post 97. The organization’s headquarters will be moved to the Veterans Success Center, which will make CSUB the first school in the CSU system to have a VFW post on campus.

CSUB and VFW Post 97 have had a longstanding relationship. The organization has funded events on campus and provided scholarships for students. Several students and faculty members serve in the organization as officers.

One of those students is Hunt, who currently serves as the junior vice commander for VFW Post 97. He said he’s excited about the new partnership.

“CSUB has committed itself to serving veterans not only through the Veterans Success Center but also by accommodating the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization,” he said. “We’re grateful to the university for welcoming us and providing a space to connect, engage and advocate for our community while carrying forward our proud traditions from this generation to the next one.”

Veterans Club Vice President Jose Zaragoza spoke during the ceremony about the challenges he faced returning home after serving in the U.S. Army as a motorman in the 82nd Airborne Division and how he decided to pursue higher education.

“My time and service taught me the meaning of teamwork, sacrifice and perseverance. It taught me what it meant to have a mission and how to succeed regardless of the obstacles I came across,” he said. “When I came home and took off the uniform, I thought the hardest part was behind me, but like many veterans, I learned that the transition back to civil life brings its own challenges. You go from having clear orders and structure to now navigating a world that feels unfamiliar. Many of us struggle to find that same sense of purpose we once had. For me, that new purpose became education.”

Zaragoza first attended Bakersfield College before transferring to CSUB, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s in geology. It was at BC where he first saw how a veterans center on campus could make a difference for students like himself and give them a space where they feel valued and supported.

“Seeing that transformation motivated me and showed me what’s possible when a campus invests in its veterans. That’s why having a Veterans Success Center here is so important,” he said. “It’s not just a building, it’s a community. It’s where veterans come together to share experiences, navigate benefits and support each other as we adapt to this new mission of being students. To my fellow veterans, thank you for your courage, your resilience and your continued service. Our mission may have changed, but our commitment has not.”