by Skip Anderson

Quick! Name an MTSU organization that is one of 1,600 chapters representing 750,000 students, has increased its chapter membership from 76 to 124 MTSU students and alumni in two short years, and has a chapter president driven to sustain the momentum.

If you’re thinking of MTSU’s heralded Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center, you’d be wrong—sort of.

“We work with the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center,” said Jerry Stewart, chapter president of Student Veterans of America, BRAVO chapter, housed at MTSU. “While they handle the paperwork for us student veterans, we are working to put on events and to bring in guest speakers to speak to our members.”

Normally, a veteran organization such as MTSU BRAVO might absorb into a nationally respected center such as the Daniels Center. However, due to the strong leadership and efficacy of MTSU BRAVO, the leadership of both decided to work in tandem to support MTSU student veterans.

I have made it my mission as chapter president . . . to prevent another student veteran from falling through the cracks.

BRAVO is quickly drawing attention from its national parent organization, Student Veterans of America. With the recent upsurge in student veteran membership, the 15-year-old chapter became the largest in the country for a time.

“Currently we have 124 members on our roster at BRAVO,” Stewart said. “That includes alumni members, staff, and faculty, as well as family members.”

Having served 13 years in the U.S. Army, Stewart is now a student veteran sophomore majoring in Concrete Industry Management. He and Summer, his wife of 19 years, have three children, ages 22, 17, and 16.

“I was primarily a Patriot Missile launcher operator and maintainer,” he said. “One of my jobs when I left active duty and moved to Tennessee was driving a concrete truck. . . . I wanted to find a way to change part of the industry, if possible.” Stewart also served four years with the Tennessee National Guard, 269th MP Company.

Once at MTSU, he quickly found Student Veterans of America/BRAVO. Recently, Stewart was instrumental in seeing MTSU recognized as only the second Purple Heart Trail university in Tennessee. He also was recently honored as MTSU’s top student organization president for 2023–24.

“I got involved in Student Veterans of America after my first semester when another student veteran committed suicide,” he said. “The campus was really talking about suicide rates among students in general. So, I have made it my mission as chapter president to bring awareness to the situation, and to prevent another student veteran from falling through the cracks.”

That mission—and others—seem to be resonating within the 1,000 or so student veterans at MTSU. With a full schedule of events, such as a Chili Bowl cookoff/fundraiser, inaugural Visibility Exchange, and joint Burger Burn with the ROTC, MTSU BRAVO helps its members maintain personal connections and foster a sense of purpose, which can often evaporate after they leave the service.

Stewart (l) accepts MTSU’s top student organization president award for 2023–24 from President Sidney A. McPhee. (MTSU Photo by James Cessna)

“We are supporting each other in our education, and making sure each student veteran is achieving their educational goals,” Stewart said. “And we are working with other chapters in the region to make all Tennessee student veterans’ campus life better.”

Stewart’s elevator pitch to potential members of MTSU BRAVO is simple: “Do you want to be a part of a community that provides mentorship and networking opportunities as well as continue to serve our great community?” he said. “If so, join BRAVO.”

Bravo, indeed.

Ways to Support BRAVO

Make gifts online at mtsu.edu/supportMT. Click on the button titled: Select the fund(s) for your gift. Under “Designate my gift to:”, choose “Other” and then type in BRAVO as the recipient.

Checks should be made to the MTSU Foundation with a note on the memo line that names the BRAVO fund and mailed to: 

Office of Development
MTSU Box 109
Murfreesboro, TN 37132