Zach Phillips

From the front lines of the Iraq battlefield to the classroom, Siena Heights University (SHU) student-veteran, SGT. Nate Lunsford has seen it all. Lunsford, 31, has experienced many difficulties in his long journey to becoming a non-traditional student at SHU. Instead of going to college right after high school, Lunsford enlisted into the United States Army where he spent 11 years defending his country. During his enlistment, he was deployed on two overseas tours spending a total of 24 months in Iraq.

After Lunsford’s tour of duties concluded, he knew he wanted to do something more with his life and almost immediately found SHU. Not only was he enrolled at SHU but so was his wife who is also a student-veteran. Currently Nate Lunsford is a junior pursuing a BFA and is about 23 credits shy of completion.

Being a student veteran presents unique challenges, one being the age difference between himself and other students. “The age gap. It’s difficult at times due to the age gap and the lack of consideration for life experiences.” As most will attest, being a non-traditional student is not the easiest thing to do. Throw in a wife and infant child on top of spending 11 years in the armed services; schooling can prove to be difficult. These difficulties do not come without a positive reinforcement of financial assistance benefits. Because of Nate’s service in the United States Army and a partial disability, he qualified for full tuition coverage and all of his school supplies and books are covered.

Lunsford’s typical school day is far from the traditional undergrad experience. He’s  up early to feed the dog, change the kiddo sometimes, morning rituals, classes throughout the day, come home, do some chores.
“I’ll take over for my wife to give her a break, eat some time in there, shower, go to bed and sometimes sleep soundly, other times not so much,” he said.

Amidst the sometimes chaotic schedule, Nate loves where he is today and is grateful for the lessons learned in the military. “It put me where I am today.”