VHVtv and the VETERANS RESOURCE CENTER at the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE have been officially partnered with the UCR Communications Office Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
UC Riverside and VHVtv Talent Release Talent Release Form.
VHVtv is community education access television. Here is our playlist on Padnet TV in Long Beach. PADNET TV is a digital community media center.
The VRC at UC Riverside and VHVTV are creating content
Our Latest Interview Is With Tami Thacker, the Director of the Veterans Resource Center at UC Riverside.
She explains the services that are available to the Student Veterans and their Family Members.
This VHVtv interview is with Tami Thacker and Kevin Brooks and was filmed at the VRC in February 2026.
Tami and Kevin are all about creating successful employment and business opportunities for Veterans.
Ralph Figueroa, Tami Thacker and Sheryl Shaffer, VHVtv Producer.
Ralph Figueroa is interviewed by Tami Thacker at the UC Riverside Veterans Resource Center.
Ralph was the National Student Veteran of the Year in 2024 and advises other student veterans to get involved in the SVA.
VHVtv is filmed as Community Educational Access television for the MidPen Media Center in Palo Alto, CA.
VHVtv Producers are Sheryl Shaffer and Sandy Dee and we are a Remote Production Volunteer Community creating our content using our iPhones and editing on the iMovie.
VHVtv created a 10 minute video about the VRC hosting the “UCR Highlander Warriors Obstacle Course.”
Tami Thacker is the Director at the Veterans Resource Center at UC Riverside and hosted the Obstacle Course and Tami drove us around to film and it was a fun event!
VHVtv Host Ralph Figueroa, U.S. Army Veteran and Student Veteran of CSU San Bernardino, asks Greg and Bo about their military service and how they were chosen for the SVA Leadership Experience in Washington, D.C. and their visit to the White House. This was an incredible opportunity from Students Veterans of America to hone core values such as achieving a growth mindset, humility and collaboration with leadership skills necessary in all aspects of life. The First Guest is Greg Sanchez. He speaks about overcoming addiction and how he was given a second chance through the Veterans Treatment Court in Riverside County. His transformation began when he started education at the University of Riverside 2021. Greg recently graduated with Distinction and Honors from UC Riverside and will continue his education at the University of Chicago while pursuing a Masters Degree in Public Policy. The Second Guest is Bo Daodu whose family immigrated from Nigeria. He is studying Economics at UCR and tells how he has overcome medical issues to continues his studies pursuing a PhD in Economics.
“Student Veterans of America and the Veterans Resource Center at UC Riverside” was filmed with the Student Veterans of America, SVA Leadership Fellows Greg Sanchez and Bo Daodu
of the University of California Riverside.
https://veterans.ucr.edu
Both men are U.S. Navy Veterans and Student Veterans at the UCR. Filmed with iPhones and a mini iPad at the UCR Veterans Resource Center, Thursday, January 12.
During February 2019, Tami Thacker interviews Donald Zarate, a UCR Student Veteran as he talks about his military experience and we filmed it at the Veterans Resource Center.
VHVtv filmed our first interviews in January 2023 with the Student Veterans of America, SVA Leadership Fellows Greg Sanchez and Bo Daodu of the University of California Riverside.
https://veterans.ucr.edu
Both men are U.S. Navy Veterans and Student Veterans at the UCR. Filmed with iPhones and a mini iPad at the UCR Veterans Resource Center, Thursday, January 12.
Special Thank You to the University of California Riverside, Director of the Veterans Resource Center, Tami Thacker.
Veterans Helping Veterans TV, VHVtv, established our initial collaboration in early 2020 when VHVtv was invited to film a half hour documentary about the Veterans Resource Center at UC Riverside by the VRC Director, Tami Thacker.
https://veterans.ucr.edu
We were scheduled to film in mid March 2020 and the campus was shut down during this time because of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Virtual Interviews with first VHVtv Intern, Richard Gonzales
Since we could not film on campus and the Media Center was shut down, VHVtv pivoted. The Media Center studio has reopened since July 2022.
During this time, we discovered Zoom video conferencing and realized we could continue VHVtv production virtually with video conferencing, digital photos and B roll and became virtual content creators.
VHVtv has resumed filming in person interviews. In early 2020, we had many production meetings with the Veterans Resource Center staff about how we were going to film a video about the updated VRC.
During these meetings, VHVtv Co-producer Sandy Dee and I (Sheryl Shaffer) were introduced to our first UCR VRC Intern, Richard Gonzales.
At the time, Richard was a film student creating video content and editing on Premiere Pro and agreed to work with us when we were to film on campus in mid March 2020.
During the next 2 years VHVtv and Richard Gonzales created 24 Virtual Interviews. https://vhvtv.org/vhvtv-virtual-interviews-2021/
VRC and VHVtv Interviews 2020 to 2022
Here is a video VHVtv created with the Veterans Resource Center at UC Riverside in 2022 and it features U.S. Army Veterans Will Pines and Chr!s Ochoa as they discuss services available for students at UCR.
https://vhvtv.org/the-veterans-resource-center-at-the-university-of-california-riverside/
The Veterans Resource Center interviews with Chr!s Ochoa and Will Pines. These 2 U.S. Army Veterans discuss how they outreach to student veterans and all students with disabilities at the University of California Riverside campus. Chr!s Ochoa is a UCR student veteran and works at the Veterans Resource Center. Will Pines helps all students with any disability, to break barriers and he is located at the Student Disability Resource Center and is an expert in adaptive technology.
The Veterans Resource Center is managed by U.S. Navy Veteran, Tami Thacker and held their Grand Reopening Feb 24, 2022.
The guest speaker was Congressman (D) Mark Takano of Riverside County. Congressman Takano is the Chairman of the House Committee of Veterans Affairs and a Member of the Labor and Education Committee.
Congressman Takano informs us about the progress of the PACT Act. Since we filmed this, the PACT Act has been passed into law. “It expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. This law helps provide generations of Veterans, and their survivors, with the care and benefits they’ve earned and deserve.” (VA web site.)
Tami gives us a tour of the Veterans Resource Center and tells us why it is so important for student veterans.
