Veterans Find Support Year-round at UK Veterans Resource Center

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 11, 2014) — Since Veterans Day was established in 1954, Nov. 11 has stood as an official day to honor all military veterans in the United States and recognize their service and sacrifices.  The University of Kentucky Veterans Resource Center (VRC), a unit of Enrollment Management, works every day to honor our veterans and provide them support and services to assist with their transition either into higher education for the first time or for a return to college.

UK is consistently ranked by both GI Jobs Magazine and the Military Times, Edge Magazine as one of the top campuses in the nation for military and veteran students.  Today, we highlight three of those veterans who value the support of the Veterans Resource Center while working toward their degrees.

Matthew Bradford

Marine Corps veteran Matthew Bradford's story is one of overcoming what seem like insurmountable odds — a story of inspiration not only to other veterans, but also to the UK community where Bradford is majoring in communication and history. He hopes to become a sportscaster.

Bradford grew up in Winchester, Kentucky, as a huge UK sports fan and dreamed of attending UK. However, he chose to put his dream on hold around the time of 9/11, when he enlisted in the Marines on the delayed entry program while still in high school.

Cpl. Bradford, now 28 and a seven-year veteran of the Iraq War, paid a heavy price for defending his country. He was severely injured in January 2007 when he stepped on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Iraq. The explosion completely severed his left leg and destroyed his right leg beyond repair. Shrapnel ripped through his left eye, and the blast detached the retina in his right, leaving him completely blind.

After a lengthy recovery, rehabilitation, and a determined spirit, Bradford picked up with his life and moved forward. In February 2007, he was awarded the Purple Heart, and he is the first blind, double-amputee to re-enlist in the history of the Marine Corps.

He traveled the globe sharing his experience with others, particularly with others in the military, offering support and encouragement. He has attempted — and achieved — the seemingly impossible, some of which include water skiing, rock climbing, and scuba diving. He has appeared on national media; sung on stage with country music superstar and outspoken U.S. military supporter Toby Keith; and fell in love and started a family with his wife and children.

After beginning his college education at Coastal Carolina Community College in South Carolina and then Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Lexington, Bradford made the move to UK, where he credits the Veterans Resource Center with helping him comfortably transition into college life and navigate the campus.

"I worried about getting to my classes, but the center has helped by providing a golf cart and someone who picks me up and transports me where I need to go," Bradford said.

The VRC exists to assist student veterans with whatever is needed to help them succeed academically said Anthony Dotson, coordinator of UK's Veterans Resource Center and a veteran himself.

"Our center is honored to take on the responsibility of assisting Matt in getting around campus and to his classes here at UK," Dotson said. "It is truly a team effort, not only within my office but also with the Disabilities Resource Center, the Army and Air Force ROTC programs and the UK Police Department.  We have even identified a “battle buddy” within each of his classes to assist him when we are not there.  Being able to provide Matt and his wife Amanda with that level of confidence, allows him to focus on his classes, but more importantly allows my team to focus on what is really important, and that is helping our fellow student veterans."

In addition to the practical help the VRC provides Bradford every day, it also serves as a source of companionship and camaraderie with other veterans — something Bradford greatly appreciates.

"It's nice to have a place to go and have lunch and hang out with people who have shared similar experiences as vets," he said. "The Veteran's Center is a great resource and Tony (Dotson) looks out for us."

Ashley Hyatt

Senior Airman Ashley Hyatt, a native of Saint Charles, Virginia, joined the United States Air Force in 2007 right after graduating from Valley View High School in California where her family lived at the time. She served four years, three of those years at an air base in Ramstein, Germany, where she worked as a dental assistant. After discharge from active duty in 2012, she went into the Air Force Reserves and made her way to the University of Kentucky, where she soon plans to enroll in the nursing program.

Hyatt first became interested in nursing in high school when her father was diagnosed with colon cancer. She observed the nurses in the oncology clinics where her father received radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

"The nurses were so kind and gentle and understanding, and they made a difficult situation manageable," she said "They were a beacon of hope to both my father and my entire family. Even though we lost my father in the end, the time spent in the small clinics and hospitals, remains a very positive memory for me."

In choosing UK for her college education, Hyatt also connected with UK's VRC, where she is now employed and credits with being instrumental to her success as a student veteran. She says veterans are often a little older than the traditional student, and it is comforting to have a place to retreat and be with people who share a mindset and similar experiences.

"The retention rate of student veterans is alarmingly low throughout the United States, and places like this provide much needed resources to our transitioning veterans," Hyatt said. "Many veterans are used to taking care of things themselves and not having to ask for help, but when they are in the VRC, we all take care of each other. I have had so many student veterans come up to me and say this office has been such an important part of their educational endeavors, and they truly appreciate the fact that it exists here at UK."

Additionally, Hyatt plays an important role at the VRC when she reaches out to fellow female veterans.

"Ashley represents several demographics within the VRC — she is an Air Force veteran, an Air Force reservist and an Air Force cadet," Dotson said.  "More importantly, Ashley represents the 18-20 percent of our student veterans who are women.  Women who have served are far less likely to self-identify as a veteran and therefore are far more difficult to reach and support.  Ashley does a wonderful job of bringing this underrepresented population to the forefront, not to mention that she sets the standard for customer service."

Elia Tautua Jr.

Hawaii native Elia Tautua Jr. graduated from high school on the island of Oahu in 2001, but did not enroll at UK until 2012. For 11 years he served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and also a logistics specialist, including a deployment to Iraq and an assignment in Germany.

"I thought it would be really hard for me to make the transition to college after so long away," Tautua said. "Frankly, this kind of trepidation scares away a lot of veterans from even applying."

However, he found hope and help from the UK Veterans Resource Center.

"The VRC walked me through the application process step by step," said Tautua. "And UK waives the application fee for veterans. The staff at the VRC answered my questions and relieved a lot of stress."

By now you may be wondering, 'How does a native of Oahu who is an Army vet happen to choose UK as the place to resume his education after more than a decade away?'

"In the latter part of 2011, while stationed in Garmisch, Germany, I met a beautiful young woman, Jenna Ballard, from Bardstown, Ky., who happened to be a graduate of UK," related Tautua. "Jenna moved to Lexington not long after that and we kept in touch. When my tour of duty was up in the spring of 2012, I followed her to the Bluegrass."

A senior majoring in business management in UK's Gatton College of Business and Economics, Tautua said that the degree path he has chosen is enabling him to translate the leadership and management skills he gained from the Army to a new perspective.

"I am also pursuing a second degree in accounting from Gatton," Tautua added. "Having a 'hard' skill like accounting should make me more marketable in an extremely competitive environment."  As he looks to the future, he hopes to work in the logistics field or as a CPA.

Tautua is also doing an internship with General Electric Appliance Park in Louisville, which he obtained during one of several veteran-centered job fairs the VRC organizes.

"I’m very proud to have Elia on the team," Dotson said. "He is the epitome of student veterans' success at the undergraduate, level and I couldn’t ask for a better role model for other students to follow. I’m very excited about his current internship with General Electric because I know he is going to be a standout performer.  I’m even more excited about his return to campus and the Veterans Resource Center where he can share his experience with other student veterans."

"If there is one thing I could tell veterans thinking about coming back to school it would be to realize that you are not in this alone," said Tautua. "The people here at UK are ready and willing to help you reach your educational goals."

The UK VRC is headquartered in Room 124 of the Funkhouser Building. For more information, go to www.uky.edu/Veterans.  You can email vetcenter@uky.edu or Dotson at agdots2@email.uky.edu. The phone number for the center is 859-257-1148.