Interviews with Student Veterans
Click on the names of Student Veterans below to access their individual interviews.
Kris Addison, Air Force and Army
Kris Addison is a veteran who served in both the Air Force and the Army. Kris is forty-seven years old and is Caucasian. He is a student veteran at the University of the Incarnate Word, located in San Antonio, Texas.
From 1991 to 1994, Kris served in the U.S. Air Force’s Honor Guard. From 2006 to 2015, he served as an 11B Infantryman and then a 35L Counter Intelligence Special Agent. While in the Army, Kris was deployed three times, and he served in combat.
This interview took place on September 27, 2018. Video
Tray Ardese, Marine
Tray Ardese is a retired Marine of 26 years. He is Choctaw. Tray is from Durant, Oklahoma. He graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. His son, Ethan Ardese, is an English major at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Ethan is 22-years-old.
Video of Tray Ardese from the Distinguished Alumni Banquet
The Distinguished Alumni interview took place in May 2019.
Ciara Berger, Air Force and Military Spouse
Ciara Berger, who served in the Air Force, is a 27-year-old recent graduate of Oklahoma State University. She majored in psychology. She is a military spouse. Additionally, she served at a Geospatial Intelligence Analyst. Ciara is from Guthrie, Oklahoma.
This interview took place in winter 2019.
Dustin Bowles, Army
Dustin Bowles is in the Army National Guard, and he lives in Oklahoma. At twenty-two, he is nearing the end of his five-year contract. His M.O.S. is that of a combat engineer. Dustin is a Health and Human Performance major, and he joined the military in order to attend college. Dustin works currently for the Boys and Girls Club.
This interview took place on January 18, 2018.
Joseph Brese, Army
Joseph (J.W.) Brese, a Choctaw Army veteran, was a member of the 11th Bravo and was in the light infantry. Joseph served in combat and was in the Army for eleven years. He deployed multiple times, including to Iraq. Joseph is from a small ranch in Oklahoma and has eight children. He is thirty-six years old and is attending school to become a veterinarian. Joseph joined the Army while he was still sixteen years old. Living more than an hour and a half away from the university, has made a long commute daily to attend school.
This interview took place on January 19, 2018.
Please see the following assignments that Joseph Brese wrote for Composition II in which he discusses his military identity in some way:
- Reading Response to Chrisinger’s Book by Brese
- Joseph Brese writing about David Chrisinger 1
- Joseph Brese writing about David Chrisinger 2
- War, Peace, and Veterans – My Experience in Composition II
- My Transition to College
- What does it mean to be a Native person
- My Sacrifice
- A War Story
- Profile Essay of a Soldier
The following is a comic strip by Brese and an analysis of this comic strip:
The following is a fictional apocalyptic story by Brese:
- Last Stand PP file: last stand pp by pptx
This nonfiction narrative is about Brese’s hometown:
Dewey Briscoe, Army
Dewey Briscoe was a thirty-two-year-old senior at the time of this filmed interview in 2017. Dewey is Choctaw. His major is English. He served in the Army for eight years. His military occupation specialties (MOS) involved participation in the Military Police, and he also had a Chemical classification. Dewey lives in northern Texas with his wife, and he is a recent university graduate.
Below are two transcriptions of earlier interviews, which took place in Fall 2016 and Spring 2017.
Max Brownlee, Army
Max (James) Brownlee, an Army veteran, served five years in the military and was deployed to Afghanistan. Max joined the military out of high school, and his M.O.S. was field artillery. Max is twenty-eight years old, and he is from a small town in northern Texas. Max is a recent college graduate with an Aviation major. He plans on becoming a commercial pilot. Max was one of a group of students, who spoke at a conference for the Oklahoma Regents of Higher Education, about veterans’ needs.
The following is a transcription of an earlier interview in 2016 with Max Brownlee:
Chris Burnett, Marines
Chris Burnett, a Marine veteran, served many years in the military and was deployed multiple times, including to Somalia and Kosovo. Chris served in combat. His M.O.S. was as a heavy equipment mechanic. Chris’s grandfather, who served as Chris’s role model, fought in Korea. Now, Chris, aged forty-one, is married with children, and he is from a small town in Oklahoma. Chris explained that because his county in Oklahoma is the poorest in the state, with a median family income of $20,000, the military has provided some residents, who enter it, with the means to have a career and attend college. Chris, who began school in 2013, is a recent graduate with a Business degree. Living more than an hour away from the university, had a long commute to attend school. Chris plans to start his own business.
This interview took place on January 19, 2018.
Ethan Cochran, Army
Ethan Cochran is a veteran who served in the Army for six years. Ethan is twenty-seven years old and is Caucasian. He lives in Durant, Oklahoma, and is a student veteran at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Ethan has a Safety major and a Psychology minor.
Ethan, a Sergeant Infantryman, was part of 11 Bravo. While in the Army, Ethan was deployed once to Afghanistan, and he served in combat.
This interview took place in January 2020.
Noel Cote, Navy
Noel Cote has served in the Navy for 21 years. His position is as a Medical Entomologist. He is from Duncan, Oklahoma, originally. Currently, he is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Entomology at Oklahoma State University. Noel is 42 years old and is Caucasian.
This interview took place on August 14, 2018.
Greg Dannels, Army
Greg Dannels spent 24 years years, active duty, in the Army. He want to Iraq and spent most of his other time in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He had an E7 ranking and acted as a senior supply sergeant. Greg is a student veteran majoring in psychology at Southeastern. He is Caucasian and is 67 years old.
This interview took place on July 3, 2018.
Ashley Gilbert, Navy
Ashley Gilbert, age 29, is a Caucasian Navy veteran and mother. She was in the Navy for six years and finished at the rank of E4. Ashley lives in Oklahoma.
This interview took place on July 2, 2018.
Zonia Heath, Air Force
Zonia Heath is a student at Southeastern. She is 55 years old. She lives in Durant, Oklahoma. She served in the Air Force in Telecommunications.
This interview took place on July 16, 2018.
Thomas Hess, Army Reserves
Thomas Hess is a Master’s degree student in Entomology at Oklahoma State University. He is from a Southwestern town in Oklahoma. His mother was a school teacher, which he cites as helping him to appreciate gaining a college education. Thomas is in the Army Reserves.
This interview took place on August 14, 2018.
Bradley Hill, Army
Bradley Hill is 35 years old. He served in the Army and is a combat veteran from Idabel, Oklahoma. Bradley is a psychology student at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
This interview took place in the spring of 2019.
Ian Manseau - Air Force
Ian Manseau is a 39-year-old student at the University of Incarnate Word. His major is Art, with a focus in sculpture. He is originally from New Hampshire. Ian served in the Air Force for 13 years. He was a Network Intel Analyst and a Military Training Instructor.
Nathaniel Marshell, Army
Nathaniel Marshell is 22. He is a history major at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Nathaniel is from Durant, Oklahoma. He is Caucasian and Choctaw. Nathaniel joined the Army in 2014. His MOS is an 11C, which is Indirect Fire Infantry, Mortars. Nathaniel, a combat veteran, deployed from 2017 to 2018 to Kabul, Afghanistan.
This interview took place in 2019.
James Mitchell, Army
James Mitchell is an Army veteran. He served for nine years and traveled to both Iraq and Korea. James is a 47-year-old, Caucasian, criminal justice major. He is from Texas.
This interview took place on July 2, 2018.
Amy Page, Army
Amy Page, an Army veteran, was in the Reserves, and she served for eleven years. Amy worked as a registered veterinary technician and a food inspector. She enlisted at age thirty-two after 9/11, and she served four deployments to locations including Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Kosovo. Amy is from a small town in Oklahoma, and she had many family role models, who had served in the military. She is forty-seven years old and married. In 2017, Amy was freshman at Southeastern majoring in Business.
This interview took place on April 17, 2018. Video
Justin Parker, Army
Justin Parker is age 40. He is a Southeastern Oklahoma State University Liberal Arts major. Justin is from Allen, Oklahoma. His MOS is 11 Zulu, Army, Senior Sergeant Infantryman. Justin, a combat veteran, served 22 years and deployed four times to Egypt, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
This interview took place in 2019.
Bobby Rose, Navy
Robert (Bobby) Rose, a Navy veteran, served more than ten years in the Seabees. He worked as a steel worker and has travelled to many countries. Bobby is a sophomore at Southeastern majoring in Safety and Criminal Justice. He is from a small town in Oklahoma and is thirty-eight years old.
This interview took place on April 17, 2018.
Stephen Shropshire, Army
Stephen Shropshire, an Army veteran, was in the Reserves, and he served for ten years. Stephen, who was deployed to Afghanistan, engaged in infantry-related security work. Stephen is from a small town in Oklahoma. He is thirty years old and married with children. Stephen is earning a Business degree.
This interview took place on January 19, 2018.
Kyle Sikes, Army
Kyle Sikes is a 28-year-old, Caucasian Army veteran from Georgia. Kyle is a father of young children. He is also an aviation major.
This interview took place on February 13, 2018.
Kahsandra Williams - Army
Kahsandra Williams is a 29-year-old student at the University of Incarnate Word. Her major is Art, with a focus in sculpture. She is originally from Copperas Cove, Texas. Kahsandra served in the Army for 7 years. She was a Human Intelligence Collector.