UNG earns recognition on Military Friendly lists

Amber Lowery and Gabe Lowery are each pursuing different areas of study and post-graduation plans at the University of North Georgia (UNG). She is seeking a degree in biology with the goal of becoming a surgeon, while he is pursuing a degree in accounting as a Green-to-Gold active-duty soldier who will become an Army officer upon graduation.

While their career goals are diverging, the wife-and-husband duo has been appreciative of the shared support they are experiencing as Army veterans who are students at UNG.

"We're both in our 30s, and we're here and so thankful to be learning alongside people all the way from 18 to in their 50s," said Amber Lowery, a junior from Dublin, Georgia, who is now in the Georgia Army National Guard after previously serving in the active-duty Army. "It's very welcoming, and the veteran lounge is very helpful to drop in and just connect with other veterans who have similar experiences. They can help you along your path."

Gabe Lowery has also embraced the balanced education UNG offers students.

"The business college offers a lot of people who are still active in their fields as instructors and professors. So it provides a really great perspective for what I could see myself doing in the future," Gabe Lowery said. "And it also helps me use them as sounding boards for my ideas as I push forward, like returning into military service and then starting my own future."

Their story is emblematic of the support UNG provides veterans and military-connected students, from Veteran Resource Lounges at UNG's Dahlonega and Gainesville campuses to "Got Your Six" training to assist faculty and staff in understanding the needs of these students.

UNG was named a Military Friendly School Gold and Military Spouse Friendly School designee by VIQTORY, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business.

Another program UNG has to support these students is "Battle Buddies," which pairs faculty and staff mentors who are veterans with current students who are veterans. One of those pairings is senior Frances Lewis and Dr. Jaimie Kelly, an associate professor of Political Science and International Affairs. Lewis joined the Army National Guard before enrolling a short time later at UNG as a cadet on the Georgia Military Service Scholarship, which allows her to serve in the Guard while at UNG and commission as a second lieutenant in the Guard upon graduation.

Lewis is a Rossville, Georgia, native pursuing a degree in biology and looking to enter the medical field. She is grateful to be able to go to lunch periodically with Kelly and simply pick the professor's brain as she moves toward her degree.

"I personally think it's been a blessing," Lewis said. "And I'm very thankful that we have this program because it's given me different perspectives on how to handle things and what other people go through as well."

Kelly said she would have loved to have a program like Battle Buddies when she was in college. She said one of the best things she can provide Lewis is a sense of familiarity since both have served in the Army.

"You have your own language from being in that experience, and when you get thrown into a new setting where people don't have that same frame of reference, you feel like you're talking past them sometimes," Kelly said. "So having somebody who understands the terminology that you use allows you to tell the story without having to explain 37 points in it and breaking down all the acronyms. It's just nice to have that person who has the same frame of reference. Probably the best part of it is just having somebody to talk to."

Dr. Andrew Johnson, executive director of Student Impact Initiatives, created the Battle Buddies program and is grateful to see it already helping students.

"Veterans like to have one person that can help with everything," Johnson said. "And if they are military-connected, it's even better."

Laura Russell, coordinator for military-connected and adult learner programs, is grateful for the ways she is able to work with students with these experiences.

"To me, being a Military Friendly School is about much more than a designation. It is about making sure our military-connected students know that their service matters and that they have a place to belong at UNG," Russell said. "These students bring incredible resilience, leadership, perspective, and life experience to our university. Our responsibility is to meet them where they are, connect them with the resources they need and make sure they know that we are genuinely invested in their success."