Catherine Golden, M.P.A., director of distance education and military programs and Paul Tschudi, Ed.S., M.A., LPC, assistant professor, both in the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), were chosen as recipients of the Veterans Accelerate Learning Opportunities & Rewards (VALOR) Excellence Award. Golden and Tschudi were among 26 GW faculty, staff, and students who demonstrate excellence in learning and service to benefit GW student military members, veterans, and their families. They received their awards during a ceremony on May 1.
Golden has committed herself to providing quality health care education opportunities to veterans and active-duty service members. During her time at SMHS, Golden has worked with students deployed around the world, to make sure online programs are presented in a way that enables service members to learn, often getting creative when working with students who have poor Wi-Fi or get last minute deployments. She also helped create new academic pathways for active-duty service members and veterans within SMHS.
Tschudi, who is also an assistant professor of health care sciences and counseling at the GW Graduate School of Education and Human Development, is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He has acted as a mentor to many veterans at SMHS and GW and participated in the Veterans History Project to tell his story and help veterans tell their own stories of war. Tschudi has been instrumental in developing a collaborative program to offer mental health and advising services to veterans and their family members at no cost. This collaboration includes counselors from GW, the Washington D.C. Vet Center, the Wendt Center and the National Veterans Center. He has also delivered webinars focusing on the needs of veterans who are transitioning from the military to a campus culture.
The VALOR Excellence Awards are bestowed annually to recognize individuals and teams who align with the GW VALOR core values, principles, and initiatives and work to “maximize the success of VALOR students via excellence in learning and service, achieving the highest graduation rates nationally, and enhancing the careers of GW student military members, veterans, and their families.” Recipients are also honored for contributing to the institutional mission and prestige of GW.
