UGA Student Veterans Earn Scholarships and Graduate in Record Numbers
The UGA Student Veteran Resource Center (SVRC) hosted its 13th annual Honor Cord and Scholarship Ceremony on April 28. UGA President Jere W. Morehead presented graduates with military honor cords and donors provided scholarships to bridge veterans’ education benefit gaps. This year, honor cords were funded by the Hampton Roads Chapter of the UGA Alumni Association.
The University of Georgia continues to be a national leader in support for student veterans and service members. For the 2026 calendar year, 122 student veterans will earn a degree – the largest graduating class since the inception of the SVRC in 2013.
Marylyn Key, a 2026 graduate from the Lamar Dodd School of Art and retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, said that veterans do many things with little or no recognition, and do so without seeking credit.
“Seeking recognition is just not our intent,” Key said. “It is such a privilege to be acknowledged by President Morehead with the military honor cord. I can’t begin to express the amount of pride and gratitude this gives me.”
This was the first academic year in which UGA’s veteran population topped 400 students. The SVRC anticipates more student veterans to join the campus community over the summer, including continued growth at UGA’s extended campuses and among online students.
During the 2026 academic year, 46 donors provided more than $387,000 for student veteran scholarship through the SVRC and another $100,000 was provided directly through UGA colleges and schools. This continues a trend of tremendous growth in the number of donors contributing to the success of these students. Their gifts help UGA’s student veterans graduate on time and find employment at extremely high rates.
Thirty-one percent UGA’s student veterans do not have education benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and an additional 10% receive only partial benefits. This results in more than 160 student veterans requiring help with covering the shortfall in tuition, books and cost of living expenses.
Jon Segars, director of the SVRC, emphasized the importance of remembering that many of these veterans gave up a full-time job in the military and forfeited a good salary and medical benefits in exchange for an opportunity to earn a degree.
“In the long run, they will be highly successful in a new career, and it is our mission to help get them to that point,” Segars said.
The SVRC provides transition assistance to veterans and service members to include opening doors to available resources and facilitating career readiness. The center has two professional staff and typically employs around 10 student workers to assist with the help desk, referrals, engagement opportunities, and well-being support.
To learn more about supporting UGA’s student veterans and the mission of the SVRC, visit the Student Veterans Resource Center website at https://svrc.uga.edu/give/.
Writer/Contact: Jon Segars, 706-542-7872, Jon.Segars@uga.edu
