The HigherEdMilitary Spotlight Award highlights those working in higher education who are exceptional at finding innovative ways to change, grow, and support the military-affiliated population.

The nominees and winner are selected by the HigherEdMilitary Advisory Council. A donation is made on behalf of all nominees to the campus club, department, office, or VSO of their choosing.

Please join us in recognizing the innovative and inspiring professionals who are leading the way in higher education and supporting military-affiliated students. The following are this year's HigherEdMilitary Spotlight nominees. Stay tuned for the winner to be announced!

2025 HigherEdMilitary Spotlight Nominees

"Beyond her expertise, Dr. Kinch is a collaborative and visionary leader. She works across sectors-engaging with Congress, higher education institutions, and veteran-serving organizations-to ensure that the voices of student veterans are heard and that their challenges are met with actionable solutions. Her dedication to lifelong learning, mentorship, and advocacy exemplifies the very best qualities of a leader, making her a truly deserving recipient of this honor."

"Sydney has done so much for undergraduate veterans pursuing higher education. Her advocacy and voice in this field have normalized veterans' applications to more selective institutions. She is relentlessly finding solutions to some of the issues that have made it historically difficult for that to happen."

"Joshua is continuously evolving the programs and support for military affiliated students attending the Kent State University system. Joshua has engaged the military affiliated students on each of the 8 campuses to meet their unique needs, providing tailored campus supports as well as system wide; allowing the military affiliated community to be connected beyond the campus they attend broadening their support network. Joshua provides programming that is open to the larger Ohio Veteran community and allies; helping military connected students gain support and a sense of community beyond the campus grounds."

"Many veterans encounter and become a part of the justice system as related to service-connected conditions, their needs become more complex as a result of this. Greg's dedication and passion to extend support to a subset of the veteran population is important. Especially in helping those Veterans have a voice within the higher education setting. Greg's advocacy is a reminder of the second chances and new opportunities that cannot await those who were once justice-involved."

"Todd has been instrumental in supporting the military and veterans in California. He built a fantastic program at Las Positas College and is now the Veterans Counselor at Diablo Valley College helping to build their program as well. He helped organized Operation Vet Center Funding along with several others to get funding for all 116 California Community Colleges."

"Marshall's innovative mindset led to the development of Vet Net Ally training, a groundbreaking program that has transformed how higher education professionals understand and assist student veterans. In addition to training thousands of faculty and staff, he has played a key role in shaping policies that improve veteran services, ensuring long-term institutional support for military-connected students. His work has influenced campus policies, systemwide initiatives, and state-level discussions on best practices for serving veterans in higher education."

"Kolin has been instrumental in providing services to veterans not only at the college but at Camp Pendleton as well for the last 13 years. Saddleback collaborates with Warrior-Scholar Project, and Kolin helps to facilitate that partnership. Kolin also provides disability accommodations in-house to assist disabled veterans and advised campus veterans clubs for a decade. He is also heavily involved with the Region 8 consortium in Southern California, which consists of some of the largest community colleges in CA."

Article Topics

Military Friendly Institutions Serving Military in HigherEd Working as a Veteran in HigherEd

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