Bowling Green alum and Army veteran Bryan Bills has won ‘Military Friendly’ Ohio veteran of the year and is now in the running on the national stage. Bryan’s award falls under the higher education category, a testament to his academic and military achievements at Bowling Green State University.

While Bills said he is humbly honored by the award, to him his role at Bowling Green and the military was all about paying it forward.

“The university is all about the public good. If you can do something, you should do something. So, if you have the opportunity to give back to the university, you do it,” he said. “I also learned from the best. BGs military office is award winning so, it’s no surprise, spending enough time there, you also go out and get awards.”

Bills spent 12 years in military service. As a junior in a vocational high school Bills was recruited for the Army and spent the summer in between his junior and senior year in basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. From 2012-2024, Bills had an active role in the services with the U.S. Army and the Ohio National Guard.

In 2014, Bills enrolled at BGSU in the ROTC program and just before the end of his first semester, he got a phone call saying he had been stationed in Afghanistan. With two weeks left in the semester, his professors waived finals and wished him well.

During his first tour in Afghanistan, Bills said they were tasked with consolidating bases, making them smaller and more fiscally responsible. Bills spent a few months there before coming home, only to be stationed back, this time to build the bases back up.

“I had served under different presidency’s so in one deployment we were consolidating the base. We weren’t really training forces up to go fight. We were shutting down bases trying to make everything smaller. During the next presidency we were building all the bases back up. Some of the bases we had just torn down, we spent building back up just a year later.” Bills to BG Falcon Media. “It was interesting to see the different times, in such a short span.”

After his second deployment to Afghanistan, Bills came home and served as an Ohio Army National Guard Non-Commissioned Officer. During this time, he got back to BGSU to finish his studies. A process that he started in 2014, he was finally able to complete seven years later in 2021.

Immediately after graduating from BGSU with his Bachelor of Science in Technology, Bills signed up to pursue his MBA. During his time on campus, Bills spent many days with the university’s Nontraditional and Military services, which eventually led to a role as a peer advisor to mentor other military students on campus.

Bills was able to take many lessons away from his Army experience and give back to students alike.

“Primarily my role with students was just mentorship and support. Being that person who could relate to the military student veteran and the family members of student veterans,” he said. “Throughout all the various roles with BGs military office, just being there for support was the most rewarding experience for me.”

Although Bills no longer advises students here on campus, he is actively pursuing his Ph.D. at Bowling Green in the leadership studies program, which he plans to utilize for work with student veterans.

“My service taught me leadership and communication with people from all nationalities and all walks of life,” he said. “Spending the time there talking with locals in their country, you learn how to be respectful, you learn how to observe customs and courtesies different than your own.”

Bills said the award was a reminder to focus on all of the positives that come from the world.

“The negatives around us will always be there if you look for them. The influence you have on people can be positive and it’s important to highlight those moments.” Bills said. “I never did anything for the recognition; it is awesome to be recognized but that was never my reason why. This award is not about me, but about the veteran. There are many student veterans on campus here at Bowling Green, but across the country as well and they deserve recognition.”

To vote for Bryan, click here: Military Friendly – Veteran of the Year