Brady jokes that he took a “gap decade” before deciding to return to school, but he quickly realized that the pursuit of his degree would profoundly alter the trajectory of his life. For one thing, it’s given his body a much-needed break, he said, from a career of extensive hands-on work, including as a rigger in a shipyard. There’s also a renewed excitement he and his wife now share about the future vs. when he was on active duty.

“You are living minute to minute,” he said of his Army experience. “Absolutely nothing is guaranteed. Now, I can imagine five years to 10 years from now.” Brady said he’s had to confront survivor’s guilt over the years after losing friends killed while serving overseas. Earning his degree is helping to ease the pain. “To be where I am now, and to be doing what I’m doing, I know wherever my brothers are, they’re proud of me.”

Brady said going to Brown has exposed his daughter, a first-year high school student, to the possibilities that exist after high school. It’s also giving him the chance to immerse himself in study in a way that complements the skills he built through his military service.

“Being accepted at Brown gave me the opportunity to dive completely into my education, to take advantage of the Open Curriculum and let my interests lead me. We do our time in the service and to be able to use the G.I. Bill to attend an institution like Brown — this is how the military elevates people.”

Despite the challenges of beginning at Brown amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Brady has built strong relationships on campus. Before arriving, he’d read the work of Omer Bartov, a professor of European history; since his start, he has now taken a history class with Bartov and learned that each of them, at separate times, served in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt with their respective country’s military.

He describes his classroom interactions with Brown students as symbiotic: “I’m treated like any another student and accepted into their circles,” he said. “We bring our own unique perspectives with us into our classrooms.”

With the University now home to an expanding Student Veteran Society — this year, 36 student veterans are enrolled as undergraduates at Brown — a close-knit community of peers has provided immediate support.  

“It’s kind of like showing up to school and having a preexisting support system,” Brady said. “I cannot emphasize enough how reassuring it is to be able to rely on other members of the Office of Military-Affiliated Students for support and advice, whether it be about what classes to take, how to access services and programs on campus, or where to find the best doughnuts in Providence.”

Brady hasn’t yet decided what career path might await after graduation, but he knows that service to his community will be a part of the plan. Engaging in the community and giving back is second nature to him. In addition to his military service, he’s led teams for Special Olympics Connecticut’s Penguin Plunge event.

Last month, Brady pitched in to building a Habitat for Humanity home in Westerly, helping to coordinate the project as a member of a local Knights of Columbus chapter. He has also begun planning for Brown’s Student Veteran Society members to participate in another Rhode Island Habitat for Humanity build next spring. 

“I feel that I have an obligation to use the education that I receive at Brown in service to other people, whether that be in academia or in the public sector,” he said. “Also, as a member of the veteran community, I have a two-way responsibility: first, as an advocate for further engagement between veterans and Brown University and, secondly, as a representative of the University within the broader veteran population.”