Justin Friedman used to drive past TLU on his way to work every day. The New York City native was living in Seguin and working in San Antonio, and the university happened to lay along his commute route. When he decided to go back to school, TLU was the first place he considered.
By that time, Friedman had done two deployments in the US Navy. (He’s now a member of the US Army Reserve.) But before settling on a school, he’d taken some time to consider what he wanted to do with the next chapter of his life. “After the military, I put off college for a while because I didn't know what degree I wanted, or what I would do when I got one. After a lot of soul searching I landed on the field of psychiatry.”
The rest is history. Now in his junior year, Friedman is pursuing his degree in psychology, just like he planned, but he’s also deeply involved in campus life—and that part came as a bit of a surprise to him. It was quite a leap, from those drives to and from San Antonio, to convocation this fall, when Friedman stood before the entire TLU community as student body president, and addressed his Bulldog family. He talked about how he’d worried that as a non-traditional student, he might not fit in once he got to college. But when SGA elections rolled around last spring, it was Friedman who his fellow students chose to be their leader.
“I don't really feel like I was chosen as a leader in the traditional sense,” he explains, “but more that I was entrusted with being a fair and vocal representative for the student body. It feels like the students who supported me with their vote think that I'm someone who will listen to their concerns and find the most reasonable way to address them, and I do my best to remind myself of that daily so that I don't let them down.”
Among those concerns: making improvements to the hub of campus, the Alumni Student Center. “The ASC is an amazing and vibrant place where students get food, relax, and work on assignments, and with that being said, I've received a number of suggestions on how to improve the area for students, and a lot of that is currently in the works!”
Friedman is also working with his current group of senators and the rest the executive board to make the Student Government Association constitution and bylaws “more clear and more consistent with how we want students to be able to receive allocations for their organizations.”
His campus involvement goes beyond SGA. He’s also a member of Omega Tau and Psi Chi, and as a veteran, found a warm welcome at Freedom Hall, TLU’s lounge created expressly for veterans and their dependents. Friedman is also a member of the student veteran club, VAST (Veterans and Society Together).
TLU was recently ranked number three in its region in the “Best Colleges for Veterans” category by U.S. News and World Report. The university is also a participant in the Yellow Ribbon Program and a member of Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC).
“TLU has been incredibly welcoming to an extent I honestly didn't expect,” Friedman says. “Having access to Freedom Hall where other veterans and dependents hang out, as well as being a member of VAST have helped me not only feel included, but actually wanted. That was a huge shock having come here expecting to be the odd one out.”
But the welcome didn’t end there. “If Freedom Hall and VAST were the welcoming committee for me as a veteran, the rest of TLU was the surprise after-party. I expected to come here, take my classes, chat with some other veterans, and not feel socially included in much else. That couldn't be further from what actually happened. I've found it incredibly easy to go to events, make friends, and become involved in so many organizations on campus.”
Once he graduates from TLU, Friedman plans to go to medical school. “That's it, that's the goal,” he says. “I want to head to med school after TLU in hopes of becoming a psychiatrist.”
With him, he’ll carry the Bulldog spirit and all that he’s learned during his undergrad years. He says TLU is preparing him well for his next steps. “All of the opportunities TLU has given me, not only academically, but with extracurriculars and the opportunity to build a support system of staff, faculty, new friends, and of course my fraternity, Omega Tau. I had no idea that TLU would become something more than this little local school where I would get my degree, but it's really become the center of my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.”