Vanguard University

Dear Vanguard Community, 

On this Veterans Day 2025, we pause to honor the men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces, those who committed their lives to the defense of our country.

Originally known as Armistice Day, November 11 commemorated the end of World War I in 1918. In 1954, it was renamed Veterans Day to recognize all American veterans of all wars. Today, we continue that tradition of gratitude, acknowledging the nearly 19 million veterans who have served with dignity, pride, and dedication. Veterans Day is distinct from Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day. While Memorial Day honors those who died in service and Armed Forces Day recognizes those currently serving, Veterans Day is a time to reflect on the lives and stories of all who have served.

At Vanguard, we are proud to count military veterans among our students, faculty, staff, and administration.

 

Picture: Veterans Celebration, Spring 2025

 

Their experiences are diverse and deeply personal, and are reflected in the meaningful statements below:

- “My enlistment was the rite of passage that shifted my view of myself as an adult, an American, and as a man.” – U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, Staff  

- “The military gave me sustained stability in my life when I was lost… I can see all along God was training me for something greater.” – U.S. Navy Veteran, Theology  

- “Serving this country is a reminder of the true cost of freedom. Through the toughest battles, my faith in God and my love for this country became my compass.” – U.S. Army Veteran, Psychology

These reflections remind us that military service is not just a season in someone’s life, it becomes a defining part of the story of how God shapes them.

To every veteran in our Vanguard family: we offer our sincere thanks for your service and sacrifice. We also recognize the families of veterans (spouses, children, parents, and siblings, et al.), who have made sacrifices of their own. 

Your Vanguard community is proud of you and committed to serving you in this chapter of your story. We celebrate the fact that our veterans’ program has continued to grow over the last few years. In fact, under the leadership of Chris Carroll, we are approaching 90 students.

Please visit the Veterans Center web page for more information.

As we reflect today, may we all continue to pray for and be guided by the vision of peace, inscribed in our Veterans Courtyard and found in Isaiah 2:4: “They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.”

Why We Celebrate 

We send out communications like this because we see celebrating the ethnic, cultural, and linguistic heritage as well as the lived experiences of our student body and institution as being in harmony with our Christian faith, our Pentecostal heritage, and our university mission. We seek to model a Kingdom ethic that embraces, honors, and includes every member of our community. This, we affirm, is a key part of what it means to love one another as Jesus our Lord has loved us. For “greater love has no one that this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13).

Warmest regards!

RENEA BRATHWAITE, PhD
Dean of the School of Theology & Ministry

Chief Community Care Officer