Texas State earns Texas Veterans Commission gold award 

By Baylee Green 

News Reporter

Texas State University has received the gold award for Veteran Education Excellence from the Texas Veterans Commission’s (TVC) Veterans Education Program for the second year in a row.

The gold award is the highest recognition a university or college can receive. It acknowledges the school’s success in providing an excellent education for student veterans and military-connected students.  

The TVC’s mission “is to advocate for and provide superior service that will significantly improve the quality of life for all Texas veterans, their families and survivors,” according to the TVC website.  

The TVC offers a plethora of quality services to benefit all veterans seeking support. It looks for a variety of different aspects in an institution when deciding if they deserve the award. The organization wants to ensure the school has a centralized place for veteran students to receive help. 

Veteran student Frances Andrews says that out of other colleges she has attended Texas State has offered the best experience. The Texas State Veteran’s Affairs organization is a whole department dedicated to helping veterans attending this University. The department offers access to certain-needed accommodations and several counselors.  

“Texas State Veteran’s Affairs department is the most efficient and responsive that I have ever interacted with,” said Andrews. “They are so organized and really makes set up with GI Bill as efficient as it can be. And it’s usually very confusing but they’ve made it simpler.” 

Andrews thinks the only thing that could be better is more awareness for veterans. She feels that veterans usually stick out from other students because they are older than the average college student. She wants to shed light on being kinder to older-looking students and not being so quick to judge.  

“The military experience is such a unique one,” said Andrews. “It takes a lot for us to be here sometimes, and it is a very humbling experience going back to college as an older adult.”  

For more information on the award, visit the TVC website at https://www.tvc.texas.gov/veteran-education-excellence-recognition-award-honors-17-texas-universities-colleges/. To learn more about Veteran Affairs on campus, visit the Office of Veteran Affairs website at https://www.va.txst.edu/.