By Juliana Vasquez | Staff Writer
When walking through Foster and reviewing for an exam, students don’t always stop to wonder whether their professor or classmates are veterans. Yet for some professors and students, Veterans Day isn’t simply a holiday, but a memory of time spent in service.
Dr. Lorena Bailey is an assistant professor at the Army Baylor University Graduate Program and a veteran of the United States Air Force as a Medical Service Corps officer. The sixth of eight children, Bailey was inspired by her family to enlist in the military and started her journey with the Air Force at 18 years old.
“One of the biggest reasons why I joined was the opportunity for education that the military could provide that I could not get because we didn’t have a lot of resources at home,” Bailey said.
Bailey’s brother was in the Navy and her father was a World War II army veteran, so enlisting never seemed like a scary option to her.
“I think the military always was a chance for me to find a way out of the situation that I was in, and then from there the Air Force truly blessed me with many opportunities,” Bailey said.
The military is what eventually opened her eyes to the world of healthcare, leading her into healthcare administration, which Bailey now teaches. It also provided her with an opportunity to connect her passions with service.
“What does it really mean to connect your love, your passion and your commitment with this idea of service?” Bailey said. “For me, the Air Force is all about that.”
Bailey credits the Air Force for cementing her core values of integrity, service and excellence, highlighting the importance of developing values that shape one’s identity.
Entering education was an opportunity for Bailey to take a break from healthcare. She spent a few years working with middle school students, but higher education called her name.
“It really connected my love for military medicine, and allowed me to once again serve that capacity, but this time for the army as a civilian,” Bailey said.
Bailey now teaches in a graduate student program for active-duty or veteran students in what she describes as a military-centric setting. The classes she teaches focus on utilizing knowledge to improve the federal health system.
“Bridging those two worlds … is such a privilege, because I am able to help my students understand their purpose, and I get to help them come to terms with who they are as a servant leader and a healthcare leader,” Bailey said.
Veteran students have a number of support systems at Baylor to ensure their academic success. Organizations such as the Veterans of Baylor Student Organization, which strives to empower student veterans to “embrace their next chapter.”
Baylor’s Department of Veteran Educational and Transition Services supports military students in their transition from service to education, sponsoring organizations like VoB, hosting wellness events and building community for veteran students.
Fort Worth junior Autumn Johnson said Veterans Day serves as a time to honor her mother, who served in the Army for 20 years.
“It’s a representation of men and women who were selfless and put themselves on the front line in order to ensure everyone else’s safety,” Johnson said. “I’m happy that we are blessed with those type of people, who are selfless … because that’s not an easy decision to make.”
In the fall of 2024, Baylor had over 130 veteran or active-duty service members enrolled, representing 0.5% of the university’s student population. The university celebrated Veterans Day with a Battle of the Branches veterans flag football game hosted by the Wounded Warrior Project Sunday at Touchdown Alley.
