On April 24, West Texas A&M University students gathered at the Old Main flag pole to recognize and honor veterans from WT and the Canyon area for their service and sacrifice for an event organized by the Rogers LEAD WT Program in conjunction with the WT Veterans Network. This event was called Heroes of the Herd.
LEAD WT is a leadership program for WT students that is dedicated to building leaders who will serve the community. Acting as a service learning project for these students, Heroes of the Herd honors local veterans through a ceremony that recognizes those living and fallen. After a flag-raising ceremony and a brunch, three WT veterans were recognized with plaques as “Heroes of the Herd.” To conclude the event, a WT student who lost their life in battle was honored with the a planting of a tree and memorial flag.
“We wanted our service learning project to be something that gives back to the community and to help the veterans on campus,” Chase Fulton, junior Agricultural Education major and a LEAD WT student, said. “I have a brother in the Army, so doing something like this really hit home for me. We just wanted to bring recognition.”
In addition to honoring veterans from WT, Heroes of the Herd brought appreciation for the Veterans Network, a campus program dedicated to serving to approximately 600 students who are veterans or veterans’ dependents. The group offers many services to these individuals, including various academic programs, scholarships, peer counseling, and group meetings.
“Events like these bring in more veteran students and gets the name of the Veterans Network out there,” Kristen Randl, senior Health Sciences major, said.
The Veterans Network is thankful for groups like LEAD WT that assist in organizing events like Heroes of the Herd that honor veterans.
“I think that putting Heroes of the Herd on is a really cool thing because none of them are veterans, none of them really know what these men and women gave,” Laura Schulze, president of the WTAMU Veterans Network, said. “For them to step up and to honor the veterans of this school is really, really phenomenal to me. They do Heroes of the Herd to make sure that people are aware of what these veterans give and what they’ve done in the past to ensure freedom.”
