Transitioning from military life to student life is far from easy. It means different rules, different responsibilities, and even different clothing. But for Josh Brown, one thing remains the same: the opportunity to help others.

Brown, an active military student at the University of Iowa, supports the varying needs of veteran and military-connected (VMC) students on campus, all while the public health major and music minor finishes his own degree program.

“I work to connect incoming students with an established group of student veterans or other military-connected folks,” says Brown, who is a team lead with the UI Veteran Peer Mentoring (VPM) program. “Coming to the university as a nontraditional student can be tough; with the added experiences of the military, it can become extremely difficult to manage the transition alone. Through VPM, I’m able to bring students into a community where people are eager to offer their support.”

Growing up in the small town of Hubbard, Iowa, Brown always knew he wanted to live in a larger city during college—a place that would empower him to discover his passions, lead to new career opportunities, and offer experiences unlike anywhere else. For Brown, Iowa’s prestigious music program checked all the boxes, and he enrolled at Iowa as a music major in the fall of 2016.

As a first-generation student, Brown’s acceptance to college was a huge milestone. He had saved money for tuition throughout high school, but by his second semester, he realized he would need additional funds. Brown made the difficult decision to leave the university to serve in the Iowa Air National Guard, hoping to earn enough educational benefits to pay for the remainder of his education.

Active members of the Iowa Air National Guard have the potential to receive 100% tuition reimbursement, but there is no guarantee when or how much financial support one will receive. With so much uncertainty, it can be a difficult decision for students like Brown to make.

“It was hard to leave the university,” Brown says. “I’m a first-gen student, so that felt like an added layer of pressure to deal with, and I was worried that I wasn’t going to come back. I knew I wanted to, but things can change—the possibility of leaving the university for good was always in the back of my head.”

Although it wasn’t easy, leaving for the Iowa Air National Guard proved to be just what Brown needed. His service helped him financially and allowed him to discover his passion for public health.

“It was a particular emergency management exercise we did on the military base that got me interested in public health,” Brown says. “I really enjoyed it, so I decided to do some research on careers that involved similar duties. That’s when I discovered public health was such a diverse field. I think the flexibility of a public health degree is what got me excited for the future.”

Brown re-enrolled at Iowa in the spring of 2019 as a public health major. Now in his fourth year, he’s an active member of the Iowa Veteran Education, Transition, and Support (IVETS) office, where his goal is to help VMC students of all backgrounds discover their own passions while navigating the transition to higher education.

“Anyone who is a veteran, anyone who is currently serving, or anyone who is a dependent of someone currently serving or who has served all are welcome in IVETS,” Brown says. “Our mission is to really expand the pool of student resources on campus to help everyone who is connected to the military in some way. We recognize that our experiences are very different from one another, so we try to make sure we have our bases covered.”

The IVETS community continues to grow each year, which makes supporting the needs of every individual a challenge. But for Brown, with challenge comes motivation, and he is determined to ensure everyone feels like they belong.

Chelsea Burk, former director of IVETS, says Brown has been a powerful advocate on campus and inspires students to follow in his footsteps.

“Josh is an advocate at his core. In the years I have known him, he has consistently taken larger and larger leadership roles in arenas that directly impact his fellow undergraduate students’ success,” Burk says. “With Josh as a leader in student government, the University of Iowa Veterans Association, and the IVETS office as a veteran peer adviser, he has inspired other students in the VMC community to become advocates themselves and to get involved.”

Beyond student resources, the presence of a robust veteran peer community also plays an important role in one’s transition to higher education. In addition to his role as a team lead for the Veteran Peer Mentoring program, Brown is the communications director for the University of Iowa Veterans Association (UIVA), a group of veterans and supporters who help students adjust to and integrate into university life. Additionally, the group aims to support those still serving as well as their families, and to raise awareness among fellow students of the daily sacrifices made by service members.

“Differences in cultural norms between the military and institutions of higher education mean student veterans often struggle to integrate into the wider campus community,” Brown says. “They’re more likely to drop out of college, and if they do drop out, they’re more likely to not return. The tough part is that many people don’t understand what student veterans are dealing with. That’s why our goal in UIVA is to make sure students have the support they need to get through the academic endeavors.”

Brown says that building the military community on Iowa’s campus and seeing his peers succeed has been the most rewarding experience during his time at Iowa.

“One of my mentees finally started to feel comfortable coming to the IVETS office for support and to just hang out. I see them making connections and friendships beyond myself and other people in the program, so that’s really exciting,” Brown says. “It’s been rewarding to know that I helped bring students into a community that will hopefully have a positive impact on the rest of their academic career.”