By Josh McGruther, OMVAE

WSU and its military community are proud to welcome back one of their own to lead a new TRIO initiative. Jaime Lopez is a WSU alumnus having graduated magna cum laude this past December with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Mike Ilitch School of Business. In addition to academics, he was also a work study for the Office of Military and Veterans Academic Excellence and dedicated officer for the Student Veterans Organization.

Prior to pursuing his education, Jaime honorably served for 22 years in the United States Marine Corps. He was assigned to various duty stations in California, North Carolina, and Okinawa, and completed multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was further recognized in his roles as Platoon Sergeant, Operations Chief, Logistics Officer and Senior Enlisted Advisor with the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Marine Corps Good Conduct Model, among other awards.

In his new position, Jaime serves as the lead Academic Success Coach for WSU’s recently awarded Veteran-Student Support Services grant, which is a TRIO grant and joint venture with OMVAE. His continued desire to serve his fellow veteran community and foster an institutional climate of support for WSU veterans is precisely what brought him back to WSU and to this role where he works strictly with student veterans.

Jaime loves to spend his free time with his wife, Jocelyn, and his two sons, Javier and Cruz. He especially enjoys outdoor adventure camping with his sons and loves challenging them to grow in purpose and character.

Please join me in welcoming Jaime to our WSU team!