With a generous discount on tuition rates for military personnel and their families, student lounges specifically for veterans on every campus, flexible online classes and other benefits, Brenau provides easy accessibility to education for students of the armed forces.

Randal Robison, a current student and retired Army chaplain, takes classes at both the Gainesville and Norcross campuses, easy distances from his home in Cumming, Georgia. Robison says he uses the veterans lounges on both campuses for his studies. “I have used them to the hilt,” he says. “They have been such a blessing.”

Robison, who is pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching with an emphasis on special needs, was inspired to begin the second career by his experience raising his four children, especially his son Nolen, who has Down syndrome. “There were times early on we didn’t know what to do or expect,” Robison says. “We were fearful and concerned, and it was Nolen’s teachers and therapists who really ministered to us.

“That spurred me on. There are a lot of families who don’t know what to expect or to do. I wanted to be in a position, as I transitioned out of the military, to make an impact in those families.”

Today, 13-year-old Nolen loves the Wiggles and magic card tricks, which his father reacts to with genuine joy. Robison graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1988. He immediately began working at a rescue mission, where he realized a desire to serve in the chaplaincy in the armed services.

“I initially enlisted to go in as a chaplain assistant,” he says. “I was completely immersed in the military culture and lifestyle, and for me, it fit like puzzle pieces. I was very prayerful about it and decided to go into the chaplaincy.”

After 21 years as an Army chaplain, he retired in May of last year.

Robison, 51, says Brenau meets all his needs as he retools into a second career. “Brenau is incredibly military friendly. The university bends over backward for us, and that wasn’t just my experience. I’ve talked to a lot of other veterans who feel the same way about Brenau. That drew me, and I think it will draw other military veterans here, too.”