A new partnership between the Don & Ellie Knauss Veteran Resource and Support Center (VRSC) and the Brazos County Veteran Service Office (VSO) fortifies Texas A&M University's commitment to being the No. 1 veteran-serving institution in the nation.

This new program, believed to be the only one on a college or university campus, establishes office hours for enrolled student veterans to meet with VSO personnel within the VRSC, located in the Memorial Student Center in the heart of campus.

The Brazos County VSO ensures that Brazos County veterans and their families receive all the rights and entitlements provided for veterans by federal and state law. Brazos County’s main VSO office is in downtown Bryan, which creates scheduling difficulties for many Aggie veterans due to their class and work schedules.

“We are extremely grateful to Brazos County Judge Duane Peters ’71, the Brazos County Commissioners Court, Brazos County Veteran Service Officer Pamela Robertson and her staff, for their commitment to serving our student veterans,” said Lt. Col. John Fleming ‘94, USMC (Ret.). “This partnership allows all Texas A&M student veterans and their families the opportunity to utilize the VSO’s expertise in a much more convenient and impactful manner.”

In the fall of 2024, Fleming and Robertson formally arranged a partnership between the VRSC and VSO to better serve current students. Kale Murray was hired as an Assistant Veteran Service Officer for Brazos County and now spends 20 hours per week assisting student veterans directly on the Texas A&M campus.

“This unique partnership between Texas A&M and Brazos County fulfills a need by helping to better serve the student veterans on campus,” Murray said. “We are honored to be a part of the team at the VRSC that is supporting these students who have served their country and we are proud to be able to provide a convenient option to meet them on campus around their busy schedules.”

The amenity of an on-campus option has been paramount for former U.S. Army Sergeant and Sachse, Texas, native Jacob Rasor ‘27, who works full-time in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences advising office and is a part-time student majoring in Ecology and Conservation Biology.

“It is a struggle to make appointments during the day when working full-time,” Rasor said. “I jumped at the opportunity to ask an on-campus veteran service officer to help me with my disability rating. Kale was super helpful, setting me up with an appointment on campus so I could just take the bus from my work to the MSC.”

Former U.S Army Sergeant Alysha Skroblus ‘27, a Human Resource Development major from San Antonio, said she likely would not have tried to schedule an appointment with the VSO if it were not on campus.

“Having VSO office hours on campus was why I felt motivated to reach out about all the questions I've had brewing for years,” Skroblus said. “When you’re in the military you hear stories about how hard it can be to contact Veteran Services but hearing how willing these folks are to help all Aggie veterans and how easy it was to make an appointment had me ripping off that band-aid. I got an appointment the second week of school and in less than 20 minutes, things were set into motion I had wanted to do for years.”

Texas A&M’s Don & Ellie Knauss Veteran Resource and Support Center, opened in 2012, is designed to facilitate the success of more than 1,100 current undergraduate and graduate students who previously served or are currently serving in the United States military. It assists these students in navigating and successfully transitioning to, through, and beyond the university by providing a dedicated space, peer leadership, innovative programs, and an array of tools and resources to foster academic and personal success.