Tennessee's community & technical colleges honor all veterans, including 35 Chancellor's Commendation honorees for 2025

Tennessee’s community and technical colleges honored veterans in their campus communities – including students, faculty, staff, alumni, and others – during Veterans Day activities across the state.

As part of the ceremonies recognizing and honoring all veterans, one at each college was also awarded the Chancellor’s Commendation for Military Veterans, a special recognition launched in 2020 by Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings.

The Chancellor’s Commendation honorees are nominated by each college’s president. Nominees may be a student, member of the faculty and staff, an alumnus of the college or a member of the community, who are veterans or active-service members and who exemplify characteristics of service, honor, courage, commitment, and integrity.

There are 35 Chancellor’s Commendation honorees for 2025 – one at each of the system’s 13 community colleges and 22 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.

Listed below by college, the 35 include 19 students, 9 college staff, 6 faculty members, and 1 alumnus. The Commendation is presented in the form of a specially designed challenge coin bearing the insignia of each military branch and the TBR logo. Challenge coins have a long tradition in all military branches, where they are awarded by commanders and signify special achievement, excellence, hard work, unit pride, and respect.

“Our college communities are strengthened by the veterans and active-duty personnel on campus. The experiences and perspectives they bring are an important part of the broad diversity of people and backgrounds on our campuses that benefits everyone,” Dr. Tydings said. “We are wholeheartedly committed to serving our veterans, active-duty service members, National Guard members, reserve members, military spouses and children. It’s a privilege to honor them, not only on Veterans Day but all year.”

That commitment includes a range of benefits and services for veterans and their families, including:

• All 13 community colleges and 14 TCATs have achieved VETS Campus certification by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission by meeting additional criteria for excellence standards and compliance for our military-affiliated community. The remaining TCATs are working to earn the certification.
• All colleges within the system are approved for veteran educational benefits and work closely with the Department of Veterans Affairs and state approving agencies to ensure that students benefits are used appropriately.
• Eligible military spouses may use the MyCAA (My Career Advancement Account) scholarship at all our TBR institutions. We participate in Skillbridge programs for transitioning service members.

The 2025 Chancellor’s Commendation for Military Veterans honorees and their military branches are:

COMMUNITY COLLEGES:

• Chattanooga State: Shaun Delaney, Student, Army
• Cleveland State: Peyton McDaniel, Staff, Air Force
• Columbia State:  Suzanne Christian, Staff, Marines
• Dyersburg State: Angela Martin, Faculty, Navy
• Jackson State: Dr. Kevin Lynum, Staff, Army
• Motlow State: Brittany K. Miller, Student, Army
• Nashville State: Brent Smith, Staff, Marines
• Northeast State: Andrea Amos, Faculty, Army
• Pellissippi State: Richard Brintnall, Staff, Marines
• Roane State: Matthew Winstead, Student, Army
• Southwest Tennessee: Esma Seferovic, Staff, Navy
• Volunteer State: Barry Insley, Student, Coast Guard
• Walters State: Taylor Talley, Student, Navy

TENNESSEE COLLEGES OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY:

• TCAT Athens: Jesse Schueder, Student, Marines
• TCAT Chattanooga: Darrell Dolan, Student, National Guard
• TCAT Crump: Jackson Robinson, Alumnus & Community, Army
• TCAT Dickson: Phillip Perez, Faculty, Army
• TCAT Elizabethton: Noah Guilfuchi, Student, Marines
• TCAT Harriman: Brady Hamilton, Student, Marines
• TCAT Hartsville: Carlos Rodriguez Velazquez, Student, Army
• TCAT Henry/Carroll: Byron Sanford, Student, Army
• TCAT Hohenwald: Ashley Linder, Student, Navy
• TCAT Jacksboro: Angela Perry, Student, Navy
• TCAT Jackson: Yaukis Cole, Student, Air Force
• TCAT Knoxville: Stephen Sikorski, Staff, Air Force
• TCAT McMinnville: Dillon Coker, Student, Marines
• TCAT Memphis: Angela Fason, Student, Army
• TCAT Morristown: Zachary Holt, Faculty, Army
• TCAT Murfreesboro: John Broughton, Faculty, Army
• TCAT Nashville: Jimmie Brown, Faculty, Army
• TCAT Northwest: Constance Kyzer, Student, Navy
• TCAT Oneida/Huntsville: Joshua Stambaugh, Student, Army
• TCAT Pulaski: Sean Dimmer, Student, Army
• TCAT Shelbyville: Ramon Castillo, Staff, Air Force
• TCAT Upper Cumberland/Livingston: Matthew Watkins, Staff, Navy

Several colleges have Veterans Centers – places on campus where veterans can gather, relax, socialize, study, and meet with staff members. During its Veterans Day events, Jackson State Community College hosted a grand opening of its newly renovated Veterans Center, housed on campus in the Student Center.

Tennessee Adjutant General Warner A. Ross II spoke during the event ceremonies honoring all veterans in the campus community, and JSCC President Carol Rothstein presented the Chancellor’s Commendation to Dr. Kevin Lynum, the college’s athletic director and a veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 2005 to 2013.