Veteran Success Team
The goal of Belmont’s Veterans Success Team is to make your transition to college life seamless and worry free. Whether it’s benefit coordination, academic resources, transitioning to campus life, or career readiness, we work together to help you achieve your goals.
Our Veteran Affairs Certification Specialist, Gwen Falin, will help you coordinate your education benefits and stay on track for graduation. Nichole RItchie, our Veteran Success Team member, sponsors our Bruin Vets student organization.
All of our team members play a significant role in veteran success at Belmont. We assist with academic updates, plan military and veteran specific events for students, and make our campus a welcoming environment for all student veterans and active service members.
Feel free to contact any one of us to find out more about how Belmont is committed to the success of our student veterans.
- Gwendolyn FalinVA Certification/Academic Compliance SpecialistLocation: First Floor, Gabhart Student CenterView Bio
Joining the military afforded me the opportunity to use my VA education benefits to earn a bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology/Audiology from Middle Tennessee State University and provide a higher standard of living for myself and my daughters. Navigating a return to higher education using two separate military education benefits taught me the challenges and rewards of reaching academic goals as an adult learner. Assisting fellow veterans and dependents reach their own academic personal goals is a privilege.
Outside my current role in Religious Affairs as an Army Reservist, I served in different capacities including assignment to a Forward Surgical Team (FST) as a 68D, Army Operating Room Specialist, and the opportunity to earn the 42A, Human Resources Specialist MOS.
- Daina HunterAssistant Registrar/ VA School Certifying OfficialLocation: First Floor, Gabhart Student CenterView Bio
I served in the U.S. Army as a Petroleum Supply Specialist from 2004 to 2008 based out of Fort Hood, Texas with the 4th Infantry Division. Outside of my occupational specialty in fuel, I served in many different capacities including flag folder for over thirty veteran funerals across the state of Texas; rifle bearer in the 4th Infantry Division Honor Guard protecting and presenting the division’s colors for unit ceremonies; deploying for over a year and working as a Commandant’s Aide during Operation Iraqi Freedom 05-07 based in Bagdad, Iraq at Camp Liberty; and as a personnel clerk for a company of over sixty soldiers. I had joined the military to provide myself a way to pay for college, but my service has led to so much more. I have developed rich friendships with fellow veterans and others with a military connection, earned a bachelor’s degree and masters of public health using my VA education benefits. I have also had the honor of being a military spouse to an Army infantryman, assisting him with his transition from the military to become a registered nurse. I feel that higher education has been my home away from home since leaving the military, and I have been able to find many of the things that I loved about the military here, such as a rewarding career, friendship, mentorship, and further discovery that I am always ready to learn more.
- Nichole RitchieVeteran Success TeamLocation: Fidelity Hall 204View Bio
As the Veteran Success Coach and sponsor of the Bruin Vets chapter of Student Veterans of America, - Kim PowellVeteran Success TeamLocation: Fidelity Hall 208View Bio
As a member of Belmont's Veteran Success Team since 2015, I work with a wide array of student veterans and love to empower them to obtain their educational and career goals.I am passionate about helping veterans, service members, and their families achieve academic success and transition to the next steps in their career. My door is always open - stop on by!
I have worked in higher education for more than 24 years - all of that time at Belmont! A diehard Bruins fan, I hold season tickets to the Belmont basketball games and love connecting our student veterans to our rich campus life.
I came to Belmont as a traditional student right out of high school and I earned my Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) in Marketing. I am also completed my M.A. in Mental Health Counseling at Belmont, including my practicum at Operation Stand Down, a local organization serving Nashville's veteran community.
- Jennifer KievVeteran Success TeamLocation: Fidelity Hall 309