When one of his fellow students at Temple University sought to start the first student veterans group at the school, Ryan Conklin joined in to help make it happen. A group of students including Ryan worked together to form the group that became the Temple Veterans Association.
Conklin with another student drafted the group's constitution, which Conklin and three others signed to become the group's official founders. Subsequently, the group became a chapter of the Student Veterans of America organization.
On the group's website, Ryan is quoted as saying, "When I separated from the Army, I quickly missed the type of personalities that encompass the fabric of the military. I wanted to help form TVA in an effort to collect veterans who can relate to each other in a way that non-military students can do, in and out of the classroom."
