From Combat to Campus:
Three veterans find new purpose at the 91探花.
From Special Forces to Student Leader
After nearly 27 years in combat roles, Heiko Grant brought his spirit of service to 91探花Tacoma 鈥 and discovered new ways to lead, connect, and give back.
At first glance, Heiko Grant doesn鈥檛 fit the mold of a typical college student. For nearly three decades, he served in the U.S. Army 鈥 including 24 years in Special Forces 鈥 deploying around the world operating in high-stakes environments where mental toughness, tactical precision, and trust in your team have life -changing circumstances. 听It was a career in service that he loved. 听But after enduring the physical toll of combat service, Grant knew he needed a new mission.
鈥淎ll I got left in life is to continue to learn,鈥 Grant said. 鈥淎nd life is service, if you鈥檙e not having fun doing it, what鈥檚 the point?鈥
The Next Chapter after Military Service
Grant enrolled in the , focusing and set to work .
鈥淚 had a difficult time starting out,鈥 he said.
The transition to academic life wasn鈥檛 just a mental adjustment 鈥 it was physical, too. Years of service had left Grant with lasting injuries that made even routine parts of student life, like long lectures, a challenge.
鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful for the and the Disability Support Center,鈥 said Grant. 听鈥淭his institution has made it possible for me to actually get my degree. I know I could not have done it on my own.鈥
After a long military career defined by mission planning, risk assessment, and leadership, he found surprising parallels in accounting 鈥 a discipline that, to him, also requires preparation and strategic thinking. He was drawn to the field not only for its stability, but for its potential to empower others 鈥 especially friends, family, and fellow veterans who don鈥檛 always have access to financial literacy or strategic guidance.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen what happens when people don鈥檛 have a plan, or don鈥檛 understand the system,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 want to help people build something that lasts 鈥 something they can pass on, build family and generational wealth.鈥
Leading with Vulnerability
Grant鈥檚 impact on the 91探花Tacoma community goes far beyond the classroom. As a peer advisor for the , he鈥檚 spent countless hours helping fellow students and veterans navigate campus life, transition from active duty, and find a sense of belonging.
Grant served as a graduate senator in The (UWT鈥檚 student government body) and as treasurer of the Association of Student Accountants. He also helped found the Husky Clay Breakers, a student club built around sport shooting that gives veterans and others a space to connect, decompress, and support one another.
But perhaps the most striking thing about Grant鈥檚 presence on campus is his openness, humility, and willingness to lend a hand to those around him.
鈥淚 falter everyday so for someone to hold me up in the light a little bit is surprising to me,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 just want to help people and I鈥檓 going to keep doing that as long as I can.鈥
A New Kind of Service
As he looks to the future, Grant says he hopes to continue finding ways to lift others up 鈥 whether through business support, mentorship, or simply sharing his story.
After graduating, he鈥檒l be working with the finance department at nearby Tacoma Community College, and the ties to education may not stop there.
鈥淚 see being a professor in my future sometime,鈥 Grant said.
Heiko Grant鈥檚 service may have begun on the battlefield, but at , it found a new front: one defined not by orders or rank, but by learning, leading, and giving others the tools to succeed.
Where Veterans Find Their Next Chapter
91探花Tacoma has been ranked one of the top college campuses in America for veterans and nearly 20% of all students have military affiliation. UWT offers programs and support to help military-connected students thrive 鈥 in the classroom and beyond.
A veteran’s story of reinvention
Kristin Bennett鈥檚 next mission is a quest to heal the brain.
By the time Kristin Bennett was 18, she was in Navy boot camp. Not long after, she was aboard an aircraft carrier headed for the Persian Gulf following 9/11. She spent six years as a nuclear chemist, helping to manage the chemistry and mechanical systems of the ship鈥檚 nuclear reactor 鈥 one of only a few women in the field at the time.
Now 43, she鈥檚 in her final few weeks as an undergraduate in the 91探花鈥檚 chemical engineering program. A mother of four. A service-disabled veteran. A researcher and Husky 100 honoree. And someone who, by her own admission, has failed chemistry before.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have those opportunities coming out of high school,鈥 Bennett says. 鈥淭he military is a great place for people in tough home situations to get out. And I needed to not be where I was.鈥
The Navy helped her find direction 鈥 but also left lasting damage. Over deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Bennett was exposed to the smoke from burn pits, radiation, and hazardous chemicals. By 28, she鈥檇 suffered mini-strokes and lost function on her right side. In her 30s, she was diagnosed with autoimmune disorders with no treatments for her condition.
And yet 鈥 she keeps going. Physical rehabilitation is a constant in her life as she strives to keep doing the things she wants to do.
At one point, she drove double-decker semi-trucks hauling golf carts for delivery at local golf courses. In the fall months she would haul 60-pound bales of Christmas tree trimmings down Mount St. Helens in a semi-truck, and worked as a city bus driver.
Eventually, her body could no longer keep up. 鈥淚 guess I鈥檓 the story of reinvention,鈥 she says. 鈥淵ou can do it as many times as you need to, just to figure out where you鈥檙e at.鈥
Her interest in brain injury research 鈥 sparked by her own experiences 鈥 led her to the VA with a simple question: 鈥淗ow can I be part of this?鈥 That led to an unexpected offer: vocational rehab benefits that would cover a full scholarship, with a salary, all the way through to a doctorate if she wanted it.
鈥淚 was like, ‘a what?’鈥 she laughs. 鈥溾楢 bachelor鈥檚 degree?鈥 They said, 鈥楬ow about a doctorate?鈥 And I said, 鈥榊eah, OK!鈥欌
She enrolled at Seattle Colleges to begin with prerequisites in the two-year system, then transferred to the , applying to both bioengineering and . But it was , associate chair of the ChemE department at the UW, who changed everything. 鈥淪he was emailing me two days after the application,鈥 Bennett recalls. 鈥溾榊ou are ChemE. You belong with us.鈥欌
Being drawn twice into chemistry fields was quite the surprise for Bennett, considering she dropped chemistry in high school to avoid a failure on her transcript. “Sometime others can see your skills and talents better than you can see yourself, and Professor Nance saw something in me I didn’t see in myself.”
Now she鈥檚 deep into research that she designed herself 鈥 a traumatic brain injury (TBI) model she developed as an undergraduate, with plans to pursue a startup and clinical trials if her drug screening work proves successful.
听
Her journey hasn鈥檛 been easy. She underwent bilateral hand surgery during her time at 91探花after losing the use of her hands from rheumatoid arthritis. 鈥淚 had to do two quarters at home, voice coding my homework,鈥 she says. But the faculty met her with compassion. 鈥淭hey made sure lectures were recorded, that I had what I needed. They made it possible.鈥
She鈥檚 also raising a family 鈥 her oldest stepchild is 29, her youngest daughter is 14. 鈥淪ometimes I鈥檓 doing homework on the side of the basketball court, yelling 鈥楪o!鈥 between lines of code,鈥 she says. Her daughter, once struggling in math, is now excelling 鈥 inspired by watching her mom. 鈥淚 was told as a kid that girls aren鈥檛 good at math, and it affected my performance. Many girls hear that, and it changes how you see yourself,鈥 Bennett says. 鈥淏ut my daughter saw me excelling and it changed how she saw herself, and now she鈥檚 killing it.鈥
Bennett commutes to campus, pockets stuffed with snacks to hand out to classmates who haven鈥檛 eaten. 鈥淎t some point I realized that my 鈥榤omness鈥 was an asset, not a liability,鈥 she says.
She鈥檚 still getting used to the idea that she belongs here 鈥 that this campus is hers, too. 鈥淎t first, I was this little fish in a big pond. It was scary. But over the last three years, this has become home. I really do feel like a big part of the Husky community.鈥
There鈥檚 one more clue to that belonging: a four-legged friend at home 鈥 a miniature husky named JuJu.
Her family will cheer her on from the stands of Husky Stadium as she earns her first degree this June, but for Bennett, graduation isn鈥檛 the finish line 鈥 it鈥檚 another step in a journey shaped by curiosity, purpose and the drive to make the world better for others.
From Classroom to Commission
The 91探花 is the only school in the state to host Reserve Officers鈥 Training Corps (ROTC) programs for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.
Master Sergeant becomes an on-campus mentor
Christopher Murillo鈥檚 second act at 91探花Tacoma after a whirlwind听 military career took him to the White House and around the world.
When Christopher Murillo walks into class, people assume he鈥檚 younger than he is. It鈥檚 not until he speaks 鈥 or offers up a slice of his story 鈥 that they realize they鈥檙e sitting next to someone who once worked in the White House, served 22 years in the Army, and ran secure communications over Ground Zero after 9/11.
鈥淚 joined the Army as a teenager,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 retired in my early 40s. I spent more than 10 years at the White House Communications Agency 鈥 working with the President, Vice President, Secret Service. But I still wanted something more. I wanted to learn.鈥
Murillo has earned his first bachelor鈥檚 degree through the honors program at the 91探花 Tacoma, majoring in . He鈥檚 also a Husky 100 honoree 鈥 recognized not just for his academic performance, but for the way he鈥檚 shaped UW鈥檚 veteran community and mentored his peers.
Murillo is part of a newer generation of student veterans 鈥 older, focused, and fully invested. 鈥淭he campus at 91探花is so welcoming to veterans,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e built up the with everything from a foosball table to video games. It鈥檚 a real space for us to connect.鈥
He spent time there as a PAVE advisor and AmeriCorps vet navigator, building relationships with younger student veterans and sharing what he鈥檚 learned. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like being back in the Army,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hey鈥檇 ask me, 鈥榃hat did you do?鈥 and I鈥檇 say, 鈥榃ell, I worked in secure communications. I was in Afghanistan. I retired as a master sergeant. But now I鈥檓 still here, still learning.鈥 I think that gave some of them motivation.鈥
That discipline 鈥 the drive to keep growing 鈥 runs deep. 鈥淚 was a master fitness trainer in the Army,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 never let up. I was always focused. And I think my professors appreciated that 鈥 I鈥檇 help get the conversation started when no one else would. And students appreciated it, too. I could tell when someone was struggling, and I鈥檇 ask, 鈥楬ow鈥檚 your paper going?鈥 or tell them, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got to go to office hours.鈥欌
It鈥檚 not the kind of leadership that draws attention to itself. It鈥檚 quiet, earned, and always focused on others.
That ethic goes back to his family. His father, a retired Air Force mechanic, worked at the airport in Abilene for two more decades after military service. 鈥淗e told me, 鈥楥hris, I never even liked that job 鈥 but it鈥檚 all I knew.鈥 And I thought, I鈥檓 not going to do that. I鈥檓 going to do something that fulfills me.鈥
At UW, that meant pursuing something long-held: a love for philosophy and politics. 鈥淎s you get older, you want to live your best life,鈥 he says. 鈥淵ou want a strong body and a strong mind.鈥
But even with all that experience, finishing a degree hasn鈥檛 been easy. 鈥淭he only time I was really nervous? The capstones,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 personal. You want that sense of accomplishment. You鈥檙e never too old to make your parents proud. Or your kids. Or your wife.鈥
His 8-year-old son, he says, is counting down the days until graduation. 鈥淗e just wants me to be done so I have more time to play,鈥 Murillo laughs.
But the moments keep piling up. A letter of congratulations on the Husky 100 from State Senator Yasmin Trudeau. Students he鈥檚 helped in class. And quieter memories 鈥 like flying over Ground Zero after 9/11, taking photos with a disposable Kodak camera, or shaking hands with a president in the Oval Office.
鈥淎ll of that is incredible,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut you can鈥檛 live in that moment forever. You鈥檝e got to keep moving. And sometimes, your kid doing well on a spelling test 鈥 that can be just as exciting.鈥
