Hannah is eager to work around the globe, experience other cultures and expand her horizons.

The future is bright for Porter, a participant in Southeast’s Show-Me GOLD Program, president of the Student Veterans Organization and three-year work-study employee in the Office of Military and Veterans Services (OMVS). A biomedical science major with chemistry and military science minors, Porter is on the cusp of completing her undergraduate work, before hopefully heading to veterinary school.

G.I. Jobs® Student Veteran Leadership Award

A first-generation college student from Pinckneyville, Illinois, Porter is among just 33 veterans across the nation who’ve been named 2022 G.I. Jobs® Student Veteran Leadership Award recipients. This annual honor is bestowed upon student veterans who are making a positive difference at their school and in their community. 

“It’s kind of crazy,” said Porter, who was skeptical of an email alerting to the honor. But after learning it was “real,” she said, “It makes me grateful, not just to be recognized, but it also inspires me to keep doing what I’m doing. It inspires me to keep being a positive influence even more.”

In its third year, the Student Veteran Leadership Award cohort is published in the August issue of G.I. Jobs, which is distributed free in print and digital form to transitioning service members, veterans and their families across the world.

“The 33 veterans on this year’s list exemplify the excellence that military and veteran students bring to learning institutions all across the nation,” said Dan Fazio, G.I. Jobs managing editor. “They go above and beyond expectations in helping their fellow student veterans succeed. They selflessly devote considerable time and energy to making their schools and communities better places. They are the leaders of tomorrow, and tomorrow is in good hands.”

Finalists for the 2022 Student Veteran Leadership Awards were chosen by a selection committee comprising prior award winners and the G.I. Jobs editorial staff. Amanda Woods, Military & Veterans Services Officer in the OMVS at Southeast, nominated Porter for the award.

“Hannah is a very dedicated student worker. She anticipates the needs of the office and our student base, implements practices or procedures that would help alleviate a processing burden for both, and really cares about making sure that her fellow student veterans and their families are fully supported,” Woods said. “You hear about people that go that extra mile. Well, Hannah really does. She really does treat everyone with the Golden Rule mentality.”

How It Started

A graduate of Pinckneyville Community High School, Porter arrived at Southeast in fall 2018 as a pre-med major with a long-held goal of becoming a doctor. Later that semester, she walked into a Show-Me GOLD captain’s office in Brandt Hall, a decision that may have forever changed the trajectory of her life.

“I really liked the idea of being in leadership and doing cool things in the military as a woman,” she said. “I love the environment and opportunities the military provides. It was just a great opportunity overall, and I wanted to explore it.”

By December 2018, Porter had enlisted with the 3175^th MP Company in Warrenton, Missouri, that’s detached to Southeast’s Show Me Gold Program.

She took the spring 2019 semester off to participate in basic training at Fort Leonard Wood before returning to Southeast in fall 2019 and beginning her student position in OMVS. In late 2020, she sustained an injury preventing her from completing the Show-Me GOLD program, and she returned to drill with the 3175^th MP Company.

OMVS

Her student position in the OMVS remained a constant throughout her undergraduate studies. Porter calls it the single most important influencer during her years at Southeast, providing her support financially, academically and socially. She is grateful the OMVS provides a safe space for veterans on campus.

“It’s a great environment,” she said, where active duty and veterans of all ages and genders come together, many of whom have toured the world and who share a common understanding.

While working in the OMVS, she became acquainted with the Student Veterans Organization (SVO), becoming its treasurer and later president, where she said she “met amazing people and learned amazing things.”

The Student Veterans Organization offers a network for student military members. They participate in V.F.W. events, and during her leadership, launched a scholarship and conducted raffles and fundraisers in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, enabling it to award fellow veterans more than $5,000 in scholarships over the past two years.

Exploring the Health Professions

In pursuit of becoming a medical doctor, Porter took a second job in 2021 as a patient care partner at Saint Francis Medical Center. While experiencing much, after nearly a year and some reflection, she conceded that a physician’s lifestyle is not for her.

But there was a silver lining. The experience helped refocus her attention on veterinary science. After all, Porter had spent her lifetime around animals; her family raises Belgium horses and Clydesdales. She loved her animal anatomy and physiology courses, and ultimately realized veterinary science was tugging at her heartstrings.

“I really love animals and large-hooved ponies,” she said.

She changed her major to biomedical science, took 20 credit hours of coursework last spring and is completing additional online coursework this summer.

What’s Next?

In early July, she said goodbye to Southeast, the OMVS and the 3175^th MP Company and headed to Fort Drum, New York, to join her husband who’s enlisted there with the U.S. Army Military Police. There, she plans to transfer to a New York National Guard MP Unit, spend the coming year working in a veterinary clinic or possibly a zoo to get the experience she needs with small, large and exotic animals, take a few additional courses and apply in 2023 to veterinary school.

Meanwhile, she plans to graduate from Southeast in fall 2022, after which she hopes to direct commission into the active-duty component through the Army’s Health Professions Scholarship Program and begin vet school in fall 2024. She is currently considering veterinary schools in North Carolina, Colorado and Oregon, and would like to eventually work as an active-duty veterinarian.

She envisions commissioning as a second lieutenant, moving overseas on active duty to handle military working dogs and horses, possibly with a U.S. Army Cavalry unit. She also would like to get involved with international animal organizations, operate a veterinary clinic on a military installation and work abroad with exotic animals.

She knows patience, perseverance and determination will get her there.

“I really am going to miss her,” Woods said, reflecting on Porter’s time with the OMVS. “But I know that whatever she does in life, she’s going to excel at because she has a drive and ambition to do great things!”