A UALR student has been asked to serve as chair of student veterans with the Arkansas Veterans Coalition.

Tanya Brashers, president of UALR Students Affected by the Military (SAM), said she will be tasked with reaching out to various university faculty and student veteran organizations throughout the state to assess their needs and concerns.

She will compile and report her findings at the quarterly statewide meeting to assist the coalition in creating legislation that meets the needs of student veterans in Arkansas.

“I’m thoroughly excited to have the opportunity to advocate for student veterans in the state,” said Brashers. “I think this is an outstanding opportunity to voice our needs and concerns with our state lawmakers.”

Beginning in 1995, Brashers served in the U.S. Navy for five years as a hospital corpsman. She graduated from Naval Service Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill.

She graduated from Orthopedic Tech “C” school from Naval Hospital Pensacola in Florida in 1998, serving at the Naval Air Station Branch Health Clinic there before she was attached to the U.S. Marines and stationed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, S.C.

Cheryl Kleeman, new veterans affairs coordinator in UALR’s Office of Veterans Affairs, said the honor was well-deserved.

Earlier this year, Brashers joined David Carnahan, vice president of SAM, at the signing of a bill into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson that entitles military and their dependents in-state tuition, regardless of residence.