UA Student Veterans Receive Honors Cords, ‘Challenge Coins’

As Aubrey Smith finished his lap across the stage of the auditorium of the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center last week, he’d completed a figurative circle, too.

Smith, an Army veteran who received his master’s in social work this weekend during The University of Alabama’s spring commencement exercises, began his studies at UA after entering the VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program shortly after being laid off from a job in Tuscaloosa.

“The Voc Rehab program helped me with job skills and helped me get a scholarship to go back to school,” Smith said. “It’s a full circle because I got to do my internship at the Birmingham VA, and to come back here and celebrate my second degree from UA … it shows other veterans that it can be done. The payoff feels really good.”

Smith is one of 66 active duty or veteran students at UA who will graduate this weekend, many of whom took part in the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs’ annual commencement celebration. Each graduate received a red, white and blue honors cord and a commemorative VMA “challenge coin,” a token of appreciation that is a custom in the military.

Smith will add the coin to the nearly dozen he received during his military career, some of which were given to him during his deployments to Iraq. Smith said the coin is a reminder of what the VMA and groups like the Campus Veterans Association have meant to him since 2013, when he began his undergraduate degree in social work at UA.

“I wouldn’t have gotten here without the help of so many people,” Smith said. “It’s a reminder that it’s not about me; it’s about the process and the people who’ve helped me along. This whole graduation ceremony is about the people who inspire you.”

The VMA, located in Houser Hall, serves as a gateway between students and governmental agencies like the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which certifies veterans to receive anything from health care to money to attend college. The VMA also provides more practical services, like textbook rental (Textbook for Troops), study spaces, computer labs, free printing and academic counseling.

Thursday’s ceremony marked the first time the VMA has given challenge coins to its graduates; their dependents also received a challenge coin. The coin has the University’s script “A” in the middle and both the state flag and United States flag. The flip side of the coin has an engraving of Denny Chimes.

“Everybody at the veterans center has a passion for serving these students, and to watch them go through the process,” said David Blair, director of the VMA. “When you add the aspect of veterans trying to finish in four years so they don’t have to borrow money — it adds an extra level of stress to get finished in a quick amount of time. It’s great to see them not give up, graduate and go and get a job.”