AUBURN, Ala. - Seventeen years in the Marine Corps qualifies Saturday's student veteran of the game, Kyle Venable, as a nontraditional student.
"It was a great honor for me, but the most important thing was having my children be able to enjoy that honor with me," Venable said.
"If it wasn't for them, I would have been too shy and wouldn't have wanted to do it, but since they were invited to come down on the field with me, it made it all worthwhile."
After his time in service, Venable knew he wanted to continue to better himself and use his military benefits to further his education.
"I attended community college after my wife got transferred to Maxwell Air Force Base down the road in Montgomery," he said. "I wanted to go to the best school I could, and Auburn was it.
"Leaving the military, everyone has that huge void of being with members of your unit and finding the Veterans Resource Center and the Auburn Student Veterans Association has helped me find my tribe and allowed me to be part of something again."
Venable, who will graduate in May with a degree in information systems management, serves as president of the ASVA, helping Auburn be a welcoming home for student veterans.
Ford Game Day Hero: Marine veteran Kyle Venable
"When I first got here, I made it a point to go to the VRC. That's how I found out former golf coach, Kim Evans was offering golf camps for veterans and that really piqued my interest," he said.
"I felt very welcomed, especially because "Puck" Esposito was just taking over as director and since then, things have just snowballed exponentially with the available resources he has created for vets."
Venable encourages Auburn's student veterans to contact him to learn of the great resources Auburn offers.
"We'd definitely love for you to be a part of us," he said. "It helps to fill that gap from when you leave the military. We are all in the same boat, being nonconventional students feeling a little outside of the norm, but we want to be your new norm," he said.
Venable wants all vets to be informed that Nov. 3 is Auburn's military appreciation game against Texas A&M.
"Once we get the time, we will be able to send an email out to all student veterans who sign up, and we honor them by leading the Tigers out for the Tiger Walk. It is a cool experience for people to be able to thank them for their service." Venable said.
Kyle Venable, thank you for your service, and War Eagle.
Navy veteran Jonathan Housand is a student assistant in Auburn Athletics communications