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Coming to college right out of high school never felt like the right path for Brett Klein
“Every day I was in class, I was just thinking about joining the army,” Klein said. “I just kept thinking, ‘I have to do this. I have to do this.’ I didn’t want to think about it every day for the rest of my life and, eventually, I joined up.”
He served four years of active duty in the United States Army, followed by a year in the Minnesota National Guard.
“It’s easy not to notice it as it’s happening, but, looking back, I learned so much about myself and who I am in the world through my time in the army," Klein said. "It wasn’t until I knew it was time for the next chapter that I realized how much I’d progressed as a person.”
Leveraging his experience as a medic in the army, Klein worked for two years as an EMT before deciding he was ready for college. Klein enrolled at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and is preparing to graduate in December with a degree in accounting.
“Nebraska popped up on my radar early," he said. "The spring before I started classes, I came down here, walked around campus and totally fell in love with it. Ever since, it's been such a perfect fit for me.”
Grounding himself in a community of student service members and fellow Husker veterans through the Military and Veteran Success Center and UNL chapter of Student Veterans of America — for which he served as treasurer — made a big impact on his experience at Nebraska.
“When it comes to understanding your benefits as a military-connected student or any of the resources that are available to you, that's where the center comes in,” he said. “When it comes to the fellowship side of things, that's where the Student Veterans club comes in.”
For Klein, having a place to meet other military-connected students and bond through shared experiences meant he always had people to turn to.
“The relationships I’ve built with other veterans at Nebraska are so special. Even if you’ve never talked to them before, it’s so easy to go up and just share your stories — having those connections has been wonderful.”
