Student Advisory Board
We're thrilled to announce the launch of the Student Advisory Board at Service to School! This board is made up of veteran students from a diverse range of schools across the U.S. Its purpose is to gain insight into the experiences of student veterans so we can work together to address their unique obstacles.
At Service to School, our mission goes beyond helping veterans gain admission to their dream universities. We’re committed to supporting their success once they’re there. By seeing the world through their eyes, we can better understand their needs and create impactful solutions.
Meet our 2025-26 Student Advisory Board
Andres Grijalva
Andres served five years in the Marine Corps in Okinawa and South Korea. After leaving the Marine Corps, he has been dedicated to helping veterans as a Service to School ambassador and a Warrior-Scholar Project fellow, and he currently attends Princeton University.
Arturo Marrero-Riera
Arturo Marrero-Riera was a Machine Gunner in the Marine Corps. Now he is a senior at Florida International University where he is studying International Relations, Political Science, and Philosophy. Arturo plans to go to law school and continue working in National Security.
DeAngelo Rankin
DeAngelo is a US Army veteran and Law, Jurisprudence & Social Thought major at Amherst College.
Evangel Baxter
Evangel was a 3531-Motor T operator in the Marine Corps and is currently studying history at Yale focusing on U.S. history.
Farell Nganso
Farell is a 25U Army reservist majoring in computer science at Bunker Hill Community College.
Joseph Gonzalez
Joseph was a 0351 (infantry assaultman) in the Marine Corps and then an 11B (Infantryman) in the Army, and served on combat deployments in both. He is currently studying history at Princeton University.
Karl Thoreson
Karl Thoreson served in both the Infantry and Psychological Operations during his time in the Army. He is now working on his MS at Duke in Global Health.
Katherine Ruelan
Katherine Ruelan is a Marine Corps veteran who served as an electronics technician from 2014-2019. She currently studies Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University.
Scotty Hong
Scotty Hong is a 5 year Army veteran that is currently at MIT for Computer Science and Engineering. Before his time in school, he served as a Preventive Medicine Specialist and Sergeant in Korea and Pennsylvania.
Sean Creegan
Sean is a senior studying Economics at Georgetown University with a focus on environmental policy. He served six years in the U.S. Navy, including four years in the Civil Engineer Corps (Seabees) with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 in Ventura, California, and two years with the United States Navy Ceremonial Guard in Washington, D.C.
Thomas Nelligan
Tom Nelligan is a seven year Army veteran who served as a Cryptologic Linguist. He is currently a junior at Harvard University where he studies social studies.
Valerie Monteverde
Valerie was a nuclear propulsion plant operator in the U.S. Navy while stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. She is currently studying chemical engineering at a community college in her hometown in California.
William Hoffman
William is a former US Navy FMF Corpsman, now studying Bioengineering and Neuroscience at Harvard University.
Yonatan Hernandez
Yonatan “Yogi” is a retired U.S. Navy Chief with 22 years of service as an Aviation Structural Mechanic (Safety Equipment), specializing in aircraft maintenance, ejection seats, and life support systems. He is now pursuing Aeronautical Engineering at San Diego City College and advocates for veterans, immigrant students, and underserved communities through the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.