The Stripes Within
Veterans are everywhere at the University of Florida
We encounter, interact, and engage with members of the Veteran community on a regular basis.
The Stripes Within Campaign seeks to celebrate military students, staff, and faculty who strengthen the fabric of UF.
Bobbie Meza
Carrie Lee
Cyara Meza
Dillon Perkins
Fernando Oliva
Frank Heizmann
Frenchie Bisiaux
Marcus Foster
Past Stories
Join Our Efforts to Support Veterans
Rory Cawley
US Army
Length of Service: 4 years
UF Major or Department: College of Medicine
Position in the Military: Medical Service Corps Officer
What does it mean to be a Veteran or service member at UF? As a Veteran at UF, I still hold strong ties with the active military and veteran community. I want to advocate for Veterans' needs and be a role model for service members transitioning from the military into a new career path. I am proud of my service, but simultaneously, I am excited to pursue the next step in my life. UF is the perfect environment for me to learn and grow into the future physician I want to be.
How does your military experience affect your life today? I constantly use the skills I learned in the military in my day-to-day activities. Attention to detail, effective communication, team management, and resilience were ingrained into me and allowed me to succeed in my military career. These same skills have allowed me to become an effective medical student.
What was the best food you ate in the military? Authentic Korean BBQ
What was the worst food you ate in the military? DFAC coffee
Is there anything you want the UF campus community to know about service members and Veterans? The military is like any other career field, and its members have strengths and skills that can enrich communities. .
Blake Downs
US Army Reserve
Length of Service: 5 years
UF Major or Department: Housing & Residence Life
Position in the Military:Imagery Analyst
What was the best part about being in the military? The training. It taught me new skills, allowed me to meet various people with different jobs and perspectives.
How does/did your military experience affect your life today? The Army gave me structure and how to prepare myself in my everyday life.
What does it mean to be a Veteran or service member at UF? It was a service to my country and now working for UF I can do the same for my state.
What was the best food you ate in the military? Food from the dining facility (DFAC)
What was the worst food you ate in the military? Some of the MREs
Gene Galke
US Army & US Air Force Reserve
Length of Service: 10.5 years
UF Major or Department: Master of Business Administration
Position in the Military: Aviation Officer and helicopter and airplane powerplant mechanic
What was the best part about being in the military? The military offered me the opportunity to follow in my father and grandfather’s footsteps of military aviation. It also afforded me opportunities to travel internationally multiple times in service and provided some incredible leaders, NCOs, and Soldiers as my mentors.
How does/did your military experience affect your life today? Military experience places life challenges and problems into perspective and offers the opportunity to serve as a calm, charismatic leader for my wife (fellow UF grad), young son, and classmates.
What does it mean to be a Veteran or service member at UF? I’m a double gator, I received my commission from the Army ROTC Program at UF in 2015 before beginning my career as an Aviation Officer. As a Veteran, it means taking care of and mentoring other service members, Veterans, families, or those interested in pursuing education post military life. Being a Veteran also means translating your service and leadership to those classmates who later on their careers will be looking to hire Veterans with demonstrated leadership and problem-solving skills.
How does your military experience affect your life today? Military experience has enabled me to place life challenges and problems into perspective and offers the opportunity to serve as a calm, charismatic leader for my wife (fellow UF grad), young son, and classmates.
What was the best food you ate in the military? Bang Bang shrimp in Taji, Iraq
What was the worst food you ate in the military? Cold MREs
Kaylynn Giron
US Navy
Length of Service: 4.5 years
UF Department or Current Major: Biology
Position in the Military: Aviation Machinist Mate
What was the best part about being in the military? The best part of serving in the military is the friends and memories that you make with people from all around the country.
How did/does your military experience affect your life today? My military experience affects my life today by being disciplined, knowing how to deal with life stressors and getting a task done to reach my goals.
What does it mean to be a Veteran or service member at UF? Being a veteran here at UF feels like I am part of something more.
What was the best food you ate in the military? Thanksgiving dinner at bootcamp. It was served with mashed potatoes with gravy, turkey and a pumpkin pie.
What was the worst food you ate in the military? Rice with chicken because it was bland and I always had to add Texas Pete hot sauce because that’s all there was.
Laura Kuzara
US Army
Length of Service: 8 years
UF Major or Department: UF Online Enrollment Services
Position in the Military: 89E, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Officer
What was the best part about being in the military? Definitely the people. I met a lot of amazing people who really made a difference in my life. Second would be seeing a lot more of the world than I think I would have if I had not joined, and I did a lot of things outside my comfort zone that I ended up enjoying.
How does/did your military experience affect your life today? Military experience places life challenges and problems into perspective and offers the opportunity to serve as a calm, charismatic leader for my wife (fellow UF grad), young son, and classmates.
How did/does your time in the military prepare you for studying or working at UF? I think military service will help prepare you for almost anything in your life. You learn discipline, leadership skills, how to be part of team, how to manage your time, and how to improve yourself overall.
What does it mean to be a Veteran or service member at UF? It means I'm still part of a team.
What was the best food you ate in the military? Thanksgiving dinner in a cafeteria on base in Kuwait. The employees decorated the whole place, and the food was pretty good too. They put a lot of effort into it.
What was the worst food you ate in the military? Sausage and gravy Meal-Ready-to-Eat (MRE). Essentially just a bag of cold gravy.
Is there anything you want the UF campus community to know about service members and Veterans? We appreciate your support, it really does mean a lot.
Courtney Lark
US Marine Corps
Length of Service: 5 years
UF Major or Department: Economics
Position in the Military: Test Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment Technician
What was the best part about being in the military? Challenging myself, doing things I would never get to experience as a civilian, building lifetime friendships, meeting people from all over the country, being apart of something bigger than myself, encouraging others, discovering my strengths and weaknesses, and maturing.
How did your time in the military prepare you for studying or working at UF? In the military I had to be accountable for myself and manage my time effectively, this prepared me for being able to balance assignments and a work schedule while at UF. I have a lot of life experience of being on my own, making friends and discovering resources so I have already dealt with a lot of issues that kids fresh out of high school have never experienced. I have mentored several of my peers at UF because of the life and work experience that I have.
How does your military experience affect your life today? It made me focus on what is important, what I want to get out of life, and to avoid stagnation and misery. Being in the military made me realize that if you want something to change YOU have to make a change, it's not just going to happen, it requires work.
What was the best food you ate in the military? Steak on Parris Island for the the Navy's Birthday or dinner everyday at the DFAC on Kessler AFB
What was the worst food you ate in the military? Cold MREs
Daegan Lynch
US Marine Corps
Length of Service: 4 years
UF Major or Department: Applied Physiology & Kinesiology
Position in the Military:Rifleman
How did your time in the military prepare you for studying or working at UF? It gave me the discipline I needed to conquer the classes at UF. These classes are no joke and require hard work and dedication.
What does it mean to be a Veteran or service member at UF? It means the world. There have been so many successful Veterans to matriculate to UF in the past and I am honored to be a part of that group. I have been a Gator fan for my entire life and being here feels like a dream.
How does your military experience affect your life today? It gives me the discipline and mindset that I need to be a full-time student.
What was the best food you ate in the military? A French MRE
What was the worst food you ate in the military? An American MREs
Hermon McCain
US Army
Length of Service: 3 years
UF Major or Department: Enrollment Management
Position in the Military: Airborne Infantry
What was the best part about being in the military? To me the best part of serving in the military is the friends that you make.
How did your time in the military prepare you for studying or working at UF? Military service helps prepare you for life by instilling discipline and punctuality.
How does your military experience affect your life today? It taught me about being prepared and the value of teamwork.
What was the best food you ate in the military? Tatertots
What was the worst food you ate in the military? Omelet MRE
Hannah Rogers
US Air Force
Length of Service: 6 years
UF Major or Department: College of Medicine
Position in the Military: Air Force Intelligence Officer
What was the best part about being in the military? The teamwork that was naturally built because we were all serving a greater mission.
How did/does your military experience affect your life today? Teamwork is paramount to success in both Medicine and Medical School. As a future physician, I hope to team with my patients to help them become healthy, and also engage in teamwork with the greater healthcare team of nurses, pharmacists, respiratory technicians, and more to assure our patients' have the best outcomes possible.
What does it mean to be a Veteran or service member at UF? It means representing the military in a positive light and sharing the values of integrity, service before self, and excellence that the Air Force and my family taught me with the greater community.
How does your military experience affect your life today? It makes me even more proud to be an American and grateful for those who are currently serving on a daily basis (especially overseas). Additionally, it gave me a much better perspective on world events and able to understand the importance of American decisions for the greater global community.
What was the best food you ate in the military? The food the interpreters would bring from off-base in the Middle East
What was the worst food you ate in the military? Meatloaf