A place to belong: How one couple is supporting student veterans

When Cody Herrin returned to Wichita State as a student after years of military service, he noticed something missing. “I’d go to class and recognize people who had served,” Herrin says. “We’d talk, connect, and then I’d never see them again because the campus is so large. There wasn’t really a place where veterans could naturally find one another.”

That absence planted the seed for what would become the Student Veterans Organization (SVO). More than a decade later, it also inspired Herrin and his wife, Deanna, to commit $30,000 to support Military and Veterans Affairs at WSU. The gift is intended to support Student Veterans Organization programming, events and other engagement efforts designed to rebuild connection and community among military‑affiliated students.

Herrin served in the U.S. Army’s 1st Ranger Battalion from 1999 to 2004, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and later spent more than a decade as a civilian contractor supporting the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of State. When he arrived at Wichita State in 2011 to pursue his undergraduate degree, he quickly recognized the need for stronger community among student veterans.

That realization led Herrin and fellow veteran Tom Lezniak to launch the Student Veterans Organization in 2012. “Over four years, we went from two members to 485,” Herrin says. “It became a place where people studied together, tutored each other, went to games together,” Herrin says. “It felt like a community.”

That community made a measurable difference. “We tracked the numbers,” Herrin says. “By building that community, we saw graduation rates climb from around five or six percent to nearly 40 percent. That’s four times the national average for student veterans.”

More than a decade later, the impact remains. The same core group of student veterans is reuniting this year — traveling from across the country — to reconnect with one another at Wichita State. “That connection is still there,” Herrin says. “That speaks volumes.”

In recent years, Herrin noticed that military‑affiliated student participation had declined. “When I walked into the new student veterans’ space, it was beautiful — but the energy and the numbers weren’t what they used to be,” he says. “Student organizations everywhere were trying to rebuild from the pandemic, and I started thinking about how we could help bring that sense of community back.”

That visit led to the Herrins’ decision to invest in the future of military‑affiliated students at Wichita State. Looking ahead, the Herrins hope their gift helps restore a sense of belonging for today’s student veterans and inspires others to give. “I want to see that sense of belonging return,” Herrin says. “And I hope this helps do exactly that.”

He also plans to challenge fellow alumni and former SVO members — many of whom remain close friends — to consider giving back. “The fact that we’re still meeting 10 years later says everything,” he says. “I want future students to have that same experience.”

For Cody and Deanna Herrin, the gift is about more than dollars. It’s about reopening doors, rebuilding community, and ensuring that those who have served have the support they need to thrive at Wichita State and beyond.