WFSU spoke with several student veterans who shared their stories of accomplishments both in and out of the classroom. Ty, Becky, Ryan, and Kevin are students at Florida State University.

Ty Brush serves in the Florida Army National Guard as an infantryman. The National Guard gave him a chance to serve his community and provides him educational opportunities. He now attends FSU and appreciates the support the University provides veterans. Having a community of veterans makes his experience at FSU much more rewarding.

For more than nine years, Becky Tauber served in the US Army. She is currently a first-year graduate student in Social Work at Florida State University. She explains that joining the military provided her a chance to gain perspective and also helped pay for her education. Most importantly, the military helped her to discover herself.

Ryan McKibben was in the Army for 10 years and he will graduate from FSU in 2016. He always knew he would serve and 9/11 definitely helped propel him into service. While his parents were initially very worried about his deployment, they are now quite proud of his service. Ryan is married with four children and going to school full time.

Kevin Pierce is a student veteran at Florida State University and is the current Director of the FSU Veteran Student Union. He enlisted into the National Guard in July, 2001 because he didn’t have any money to pay for school. In December, 2002 he was deployed to Iraq.