The SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society, UT Chapter would like to congratulate Devin Hevener, Randell Buckley, Brad Edwards, Christopher Hawley, Jason Reeves, and Megan Byrd, for becoming the newest inductees for the Spring ’21 semester. SALUTE aims to honor veterans by recognizing their prior and current accomplishments. Those inducted must hold and maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, have been honorably discharged from one of the U.S. Armed Forces, and abide by all guidelines as set forth by the SALUTE National Honor Society Executive Steering Committee.
SALUTE will also be seeking out new leadership for the upcoming Fall ’21 semester. If you are a member of SALUTE and are interested, please contact Thomas Cruise, SALUTE Chapter Advisor, for more information.
What does it take to be a student veteran? A willingness to serve. A commitment to country and to others. Courage to face unknowns and to learn under pressure. Student veterans exemplify the Volunteer spirit in these ways and in many others. Tri Truong (’24) and Megan Byrd (’24) are no different.
They are both driven and focused. Not only did they choose to enlist, but they also chose to follow their academic dreams. Truong and Byrd are both first-generation students working to complete their college degrees. Each has their own story which led them to the military and eventually to Rocky Top.
Tri Truong, Private First Class
Tri Truong and his niece Ella.
Truong left for basictraining shortly after high school graduation choosing the Army National Guard. He spent almost a year in training, and currentlyhe servesas a Private First Classwith the 252nd MP Company in Oneida, Tennessee. His primary duty is as a wheeled vehicle mechanic.
“The military life is less stressful because everything is planned out,” said Truong. “You’ve just got to do it.”When reflecting about why he chose to enlist, Truong said, “I feel like structure and discipline are the only things keeping me together.”
Truong flourishes with structure in his life and attributes that to growing up with a father who also served. Truong’s father was an officer in the Vietnamesemilitary and raised Truong and his sister with discipline and direction.
Starting a college experience during COVID was challenging, but Truong found ways to connect. He attends class in-person whenever he can and drops by the Veterans Resource Center every morning. “I get most of my work done here,” said Truong. “Most of my friends are here.”
Truong encourages other first-generation students to stay disciplined and work toward their goals.
“You are the one who cares the most about your own success. You have to stay motivated.”
Megan Byrd, Sargeant
Sargeant Megan Byrd
Megan Byrd surprised her family when she signed on with the Marine Corps. One of three sisters, Byrd was always seen as the most academically focused. Since she was young, she was interested in medicine and had always done well in her classes.
Leading up to high school graduation, Byrd’s family situation changed, and she chose to delay college and join the military like her older sister.
“I think some of my characteristics that have helped me succeed in both the Marine Corps and as a first-generation college student are my determination and stubbornness. Meaning, once I start something I won’t stop until I achieve what I am going after,” said Byrd.
Byrd and her family were proud when this determination aided her completion of the rigorous Marine Corps training process through bootcamp, Marine Combat Training, and her job training.“You don’t ever succeed by not trying at all. Go after whatever you have your heart and mind set on and if you fail get back up and try again. Most of my failures have been major life lessons for me, and I have grown better from them,” said Byrd.
After serving four and a half years as an air traffic controller and five years total service in Hawaii at MCBH Kaneohe Bay, Byrd returned to her academic pursuits with a revived confidence in her abilities and focus that can only be learned through life experience. She is now at the University of Tennessee,Knoxville, in her element, and working on her degree.
This year, Byrd has leaned on fellow veterans and staff in the Veterans Resource Center during her first-year at UT. “They genuinely care because they have experienced the same struggles of getting out of the military, moving, and starting college after not being in school for several years. Having the veteran community has had a great impact because I knew I was going to be part of this community before I even got here and it has definitely made the transition into college so much easier,” reflects Byrd.
In the month of November, we celebrate Veterans Day. I can’t think of a more appropriate month to pay tribute to the late Charlie Daniels. Charlie recently passed away in July of this year, but his legacy will remain for years to come. His music career spanned over 5 decades, crossing over into several genres of music. He appeared in movies and commercials, and he drew fans of all ages to his concerts. Through all the changes to the culture of music, there was one thing that remained constant, and that was his love and support of our US military men and women.
Although Charlie was not a veteran himself, he very much loved and respected our military service members. Charlie was very patriotic and, if you followed his blog “Charlie’s Soapbox”, you would have no doubt about where he stood when it comes to our troops. Charlie traveled overseas to perform several times for our military, offered support and resources to different veteran groups when needed, and eventually went on to establish his own organization “The Journey Home Project”. It is through the Journey Home Project (JHP) that I had the privilege of getting to spend time with Charlie and the wonderful group of people that surrounded him. The JHP is a huge supporter of our Veterans Resource Center here at UT.
Although we miss Charlie, we look forward to honoring his support of veterans by continuing our mission of helping them successfully transition from military to civilian life.
One last update on our 2020 Veterans Family Food Drive…bottom line, huge success. I especially want to thank everyone that assisted in any manner for this important initiative and food drive. Clearly, every UT department and organization that participated was a key to our success including many of our outstanding external partners like Second Harvest Food Bank, Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, and the Knoxville Scottish Rite.
Also, shout out to the Vol Shop for graciously donating 200 high-quality UT bags that were used to create the veteran food baskets. The Vol Shop also donated numerous UT towels, pens, water bottles, and other giveaways that were distributed to many veterans (UT fans) waiting in line to receive their food baskets. Those items were a big surprise and greatly appreciated by every veteran that received one.
Of course, the Army & Air Force ROTC programs and especially the cadets were the stars of the show during the food distribution event yesterday. It was evident that their participation was a HUGE hit and was truly appreciated by the veterans that received the food baskets and numerous other food items at the Anderson County Fairgrounds. UT leadership and their respective programs should be very proud of their performance. They were a great example of selfless service and professionalism.
Second Harvest Food Bank said this was their largest Veteran Mobile Food Pantry distribution event that they’ve sponsored in east Tennessee with nearly 2,500 pounds of food being collected and donated by the University Tennessee. A grand total of almost 5,000 pounds in food was distributed by UT and Second Harvest combined at this single event. Needless to say, it was impressive. A total of approximately 190 veterans and their families were served during the event.
Each veteran family that participated and drove through the Veteran Mobile Food Pantry received a remarkable variety of canned and fresh produce to feed their family for an estimated 5-7 days including a 15 to 20-pound Butterball turkey, pork roast, and numerous other items. Quite honestly, as each vehicle departed the food site and fairgrounds, it looked like they had just picked up a car or truckload of groceries at Sam’s Club.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks again for your support, and I look forward to the next event!
Happy Veterans Day,
Casey E. Bain Recruiting Business Partner & UT HR Veterans Representative 105 Student Services Building Knoxville, TN 37996 Phone: (865) 974-1322
Also, shout out to the Vol Shop for graciously donating 200 high-quality UT bags that were used to create the veteran food baskets. The Vol Shop also donated numerous UT towels, pens, water bottles, and other giveaways that were distributed to many veterans (UT fans) waiting in line to receive their food baskets. Those items were a big surprise and greatly appreciated by every veteran that received one.
Second Harvest Food Bank said this was their largest Veteran Mobile Food Pantry distribution event that they’ve sponsored in east Tennessee with