Student Veterans

Video by Nick Schnelle

Colin Schuster

24, Army staff sergeant
Studying biology

"I can't let the army go. I thought about not re-enlisting and just doing the school thing for a while, but I just can't. I have buddies who are over there, and I'll just look at their pictures. I'm jealous. How dare they go without me?"

Colin Schuster

Army staff sergeant

Video by Nick Schnelle

Toby Callaway

Marine corporal

Toby Callaway

27, Marine corporal, Interdisciplinary Studies

"I wanted to be able to say that I was part of something that was so much bigger than myself."

Video by Nick Schnelle

Nicolette Cooper

Navy lieutenant

Nicolette Cooper

30, Navy lieutenant
Second-year M.B.A. student

"I think because I've been in charge of people, and they rely on me for important things, I'm more conscious and aware of the repercussions of my decisions."

Video by Nick Schnelle

Michael Fiscella

Marine staff sergeant

Michael Fiscella

30, Marine staff sergeant
studying biology

"We've lost friends in combat. We've made decisions where, if it was a bad one, people will die because of it. For a lot of younger students, college is like a big game to them."

Video by Mallory Benedict

Joel Francisco

Air Force staff sergeant

Joel Francisco

27, Air Force staff sergeant
studying mechanical engineering

"It was actually some of the best times of my life. You get to know people on a different level."

Video by Nick Schnelle

Nick
Holman

Marine sergeant

Nick Holman

25, Marine sergeant
Studying parks and recreation

" We all had responsibilities in Iraq to support the mission. We had a higher purpose. Finishing a paper didn't have the same gratification. "

Video by Nick Schnelle

Nick
Kundert

Marine sergeant

Nick Kundert

27, Marine sergeant
studying secondary education

"The one question we get is, 'did you kill anybody or shoot anybody?' That's like saying, 'Hey, is your grandmother dead yet?"

Video by Nick Schnelle

Sean McLafferty

Army sergeant

Sean McLafferty

25, Army sergeant
Studying political science

"One of the hardest things I did after getting out was having the courage to say, "All right, I think I need to talk to someone about this.""

Video by Nick Schnelle

Kevin Melkowski

Navy petty officer second class

Kevin Melkowski

24, Navy petty officer second class
Studying computer and electrical engineering

"We're all from different services, but when it comes down to it, we're all brothers in arms. There's no question I can trust them."

Video by Nick Schnelle

Gerardo Mena

Navy petty officer third class

Gerardo Mena

28, Navy petty officer third class
studying secondary education

"In the movies, nobody's scared. But me and my friends, we were scared all the time. I'm not going to let that stop me from going out there and protecting them."