Southeast student receives veteran leadership award

A Southeast Missouri State University student was the recipient of a national leadership award.

Hannah Porter, a senior at SEMO, was named one of 33 winners of the 2022 G.I. Jobs Student Veteran Leadership Award for student veterans who make a positive difference in their community and school. Porter was nominated for the honor by Amanda Woods, an officer at the university's Office of Military and Veterans Services.

Porter reacted to the initial email notifying her of the win with disbelief, according to a news release from SEMO.

"It makes me grateful, not just to be recognized, but it also inspires me to keep being a positive influence even more," Porter said in the release.

Shortly after arriving at SEMO in the fall of 2018, Porter joined the Show Me Guard Officer Leadership Development Program, which is designed to allow students to earn a degree and train to be a future officer in the Missouri National Guard. Shortly after, she began drilling with the 3175th Military Police Company in Warrenton, Missouri, according to the news release.

Porter plans to graduate from SEMO in the fall with the ultimate goal of being a veterinarian in the U.S. Army, possibly serving with a cavalry unit. She currently resides in New York with her husband who is a member of the U.S. Army Military Police. She plans to transfer to a unit of the New York National Guard and work in a veterinary clinic to get experience.

"You hear about people that go that extra mile. Well, Hannah really does treat everyone with the Golden Rule mentality," Woods said in the release.