10th “Pride of Our Nation… Pride of Our College” exhibition opens Saturday, Nov. 6
October 27, 2021
Col. Earl B. Schonberg, Jr., who assumed duties as the 61st Commander of the Watervliet Arsenal in July 2020, will be guest speaker during a reception to open “Pride of Our Nation… Pride of Our College,” the 10th exhibition of military photographs and memorabilia loaned by current faculty, staff and students at Hudson Valley Community College. The reception, open free to the public, is from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6 in the Marvin Library Learning Commons on the Troy campus.
Col. Schonberg, whose military career spans more than two decades, was commissioned as an Armor Officer in 1996 via the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Prior to his Arsenal assignment, he served as Executive Officer to the Director of Hypersonics, Space, and Rapid Acquisition; Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Sustainment Command; Executive Officer to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Sustainment Command; Battalion Commander, Army Field Support Battalion-Kuwait; National Training Center, and Company Commander, A Company, 26th Forward Support Battalion, 2nd BDE, 3rd Infantry Division; Assistant Brigade S-4, 2nd BDE, 3rd Infantry Division, to list just a few.
In addition to two Bronze Stars, Col. Schonberg has earned multiple Defense Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Army Commendation Medals, a Joint Service Army Achievement Medal, and many more, including an Army Good Conduct Medal and Iraqi Campaign Medal. He completed the Armor Officer Basic Course, Supply and Services Management Officers Course, Combined Logistics Captains Career Course, Support Operations Officers Course, Command, General Staff College and others. He holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College (Carlisle Barracks, PA) in addition to a B.S. degree in Marketing from Southern University (Baton Rouge, LA), and a Masters degree in Management from Webster University (Saint Louis, MO).
“Pride of Our Nation… Pride of Our College,” a collaborative effort on the part of employees from several departments, is an ever-changing collection of photographs (both official and family) and memorabilia of veterans and active military service members with a connection to the college, according to Alice Malavasic, associate professor of American History in the Department of Education and Social Sciences, who organized the first exhibition in 2010. There was no display in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The exhibition, located in the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation Atrium on the first floor of the Marvin Library, is on view through Tuesday, Dec. 7, the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. “Pride of Our Nation… Pride of Our College” is an ever-changing collection of photographs and varied memorabilia of veterans and active military service members with a connection to the college. It is on view through Tuesday, Dec. 7 (Pearl Harbor Day). Library hours are Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., except Nov. 24 - 26 when the campus is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.