SUPPORTING AGGIE VETERANS
How Can YOU Serve Well Those Who Have Served?
A Message from the VRSC Director:
I'd like to start by expressing my deepest gratitude for your consideration of a contribution towards Aggie student veterans. For over a century, Texas A&M has been repeatedly challenged to support surges in student veteran enrollment. Despite continuous and increasing veteran enrollment since 1919, permanent support was not established until 2012 when the Veteran Resource & Support Center opened. The Post-9/11 era is seeing the greatest historical increases in veterans and service members entering higher education, with veteran enrollment more than doubling since the VRSC opened its doors! To sustain the level of support exemplifying our Aggie Core Values, we must continue the permanent growth of our scholarships and programming support. Thanks to the generosity of Don & Ellie Knauss, the VRSC was able to renovate and establish a permanent home in the Memorial Student Center in June 2021. Now, our focus has shifted to creating lasting opportunities that reduce the financial and academic barriers to degree completion by cementing the future our foundational programming and scholarships through endowments and gifts. This is where the benevolence of the Aggie Spirit, people like you, come in.
The following areas will provide immediate and maximum impact for student veteran success:
- Student Support is our highest priority. Our Aggie Veterans have tremendous ability to make a significant impact on our state, nation, and world and it is our duty to empower them to achieve their fullest potential. We must significantly increase direct student veteran support in the form of scholarships, textbooks, unique and individualized programs, Aggie Rings, and support for those key military-affiliated student organizations (Student Veterans of America at Texas A&M, Delta Company, & Aggie Shields) that are creating national leaders.
- VRSC Support includes the sustainability and future VRSC enhancements to accommodate the growing, diverse, and ever-changing needs of student veterans. With endowed support, the VRSC can continue to evolve our national best practices and sustain Texas A&M's place as a national leader in student veteran support.
The VRSC's current successes have only been possible due to the charitable gifts of former students and loyal Aggie supporters. We will continue our path to achieving excellence & creating life-changing opportunities for those who have so selflessly served our nation. Our Aggie Veterans and their families need others to join our dedicated ranks in "Serving Well Those Who Have Served."
Col. Gerald "Jerry" L. Smith '82, USMC (Ret.)
Who Are Your Contributions Supporting?
Student veterans like Shawna Uhl '20:
About Our Aggie Veterans:
Areas of Support:
Modes of payment:
Go to the Texas A&M Foundation website: https://www.txamfoundation.com/give.aspx
If you have a Foundation online account, log in. If not, you will create one when filling out the gift form.
- Under the “Make a Gift” and the “I would like to give to” lines, scroll down & select “Division of Student Affairs.”
- Under “Select Department” scroll down and select “Veteran Resource & Support Center.” or use the links provided.
Select type of Account (8 choices):
- Aggie Veteran Enrichment Fund: Ensure that Texas A&M forever remains a true leader in student veteran support. Give to this account!
- Veteran Resource & Support Center: Supports student veteran success programs and events that change Aggies’ lives. Give to this account!
- VRSC Non-Endowed Scholarship Account: Ensures student veteran “financial fitness” that leads to academic excellence. Give to this account!
- SAVE Fund: Supports Aggie student veterans in a time of financial crisis for extreme or unusual circumstances and help them remain in school. Give to this account!
- VALOR: Supports mentorship programming that connects incoming veterans with experienced student veterans to help them succeed academically and navigate back into civilian life. Give to this account!
- Vet Camp: Supports an in-depth orientation program conducted prior to the start of classes that provides more than 35 academic, campus, and local resources to ensure a successful transition. Give to this account!
- Aggie Shields: Supports the student organization in collecting used textbooks to fill the Veteran & Dependent Loan Library, removing the financial burden of buying textbooks from the veterans’ shoulders. Give to this account!
Fill out individual or organization name and information as prompted by the web page.
Make the check out to Texas A&M Foundation
Mark in the memo line: For Veteran Resource & Support Center Acct # ____ (Choose 1 acct. # from below)
04-58317 (For the Aggie Veteran Enrichment Fund)
05-73648 (For the Veteran Resource & Support Center)
05-70524 (For the Non-Endowed Scholarship Account)
05-70516 (SAVE Fund)
05-74033 (VALOR)
05-74034 (Warrior Scholar Project)
05-74035 (Vet Camp)
05-74036 (Aggie Shields)
Mail the check to: Texas A&M Foundation, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840
The Association of Former Students: (Student Veteran Aggie Ring Program)
To give online: https://www.aggienetwork.com/give/ringscholarship/
To support an Endowed Ring, select one of the “Veteran Ring” Endowment Options
To support an immediate one-time pass through ring purchase, leave the Endowment selection blank and write “Aggie Rings for Veterans” in the comments box.
To give via check: Make the check out to The Association of Former Students and write Rings for Veterans in the memo line. Mail to: The Association of Former Students, ATTN Sheila Connor, 505 George Bush Dr., College Station, TX 77840.
For more information, Sheila can be contacted at 979-845-7514 or sconnor92@aggienetwork.com
The Impact of Your Contribution:
With our support, they are extremely successful & enrich our classrooms and community!
"The scholarship couldn't have come at a better time, it has helped to replace the lost funds from my post 9/11 benefits running out and has made it possible for me to finish my degree here at Texas A&M University and for that and many more reasons I am very grateful"
"My journey to Texas A&M was a long, arduous process. I applied to TAMU from the side of a mountain in Afghanistan. Karen is the reason I am at Texas A&M and am successful. Without her, I would have never attained the goal of someday completing an education after the military."
"Without this vital resource on campus, I most likely would have never formed the lifelong relationships I have with several other TAMU Veterans. The individuals who work in the VRSC, are absolutely incredible and are a valuable asset to the campus as a whole."
For addressing any concerns or questions regarding supporting student veterans, please directly contact the Senior Director of Development for Veteran Services, David Bacot '90 Col USAF (ret) by emailing him at dbacot@txamfoundation.com

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We have nearly 1,300 Aggie student veterans - enrollment has doubled in 7 years
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Nearly 1/2 of them are married; many with children
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They are older; typically 27-34
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Most served 6 or more years and have multiple combat tours
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About 1/3 will exhaust their GI Bill benefits before they graduate
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44% report an annual household income of less than $18,000
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Over 1/2 work one or more part time jobs to make ends meet while they are in school
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82% of our student veteran spouses work either full or part time
