These Bears served their country. Now, they benefit from foundation scholarships established by generous donors.

When Chase Boggs graduates, he will do so debt-free.

Although the former Marine was eligible for the G.I. Bill, he’s saving that aid for law school.

His education was instead funded by savings, his job on his family farm — and a generous donor.

Boggs received the Dr. John S. Bowdidge Scholarship from the Missouri State University Foundation.

Bowdidge was a veteran who also taught in the College of Business from 1975-2009.

“Being able to move to the next chapter in life and pursue a law degree and career without the hovering stress of student loans is a tremendous blessing,” Boggs said.

Missouri State University has long been recognized as a veteran-friendly institution. Private gifts from donors just for veterans are an important part of how we support and encourage further education.

Here are two stories of veterans who have received assistance made possible by donors who established gifts with the Missouri State University Foundation.

Chase Boggs: From Bear to Marine, and back to Bear

Chase Boggs now works as a farmhand in Walnut Grove and commutes to Springfield for classes. He is a college senior and a finance major — a choice inspired by his time in the military.

Finance major once advised young service members

Boggs saw many members of his platoon and team make poor financial decisions.

“I also saw people actively seeking financial guidance, as most of these young men were 18- and 19-year-old kids with little to no independent experience in life,” Boggs said.

He became the go-to Marine for financial assistance. He advised them on smart investments, savings, creating retirement accounts or deciding what their retirement contribution should be.

His own financial planner eventually encouraged him to pursue the field.

Boggs had originally enrolled in Missouri State in 2017-18, then enlisted in the military. He was an infantry rifleman stationed in Washington, D.C.

During his service, he conducted 222 funerals at Arlington National Cemetery as a member of the Firing Party, conducting what most people know as a 21-gun salute. He also participated in ceremonies at the White House and the Pentagon.

As a corporal, he led a squad of 12 Marines while conducting infantry operations.

He was a ceremonial drill instructor and eventually the noncommissioned officer in charge of the Ceremonial Drill School. There, he led a team of three instructors whose mission was to train upwards of 40 Marines at a time.

After his enlistment ended, Boggs worked in Congress as a staffer for four months before he returned to Missouri.

Boggs plans to use his education to help families like his keep their farms

Boggs lives in a house hand-built by his great-grandfather during the Great Depression. This land has been in his family since 1924.

On campus, Boggs is also vice president of the Missouri State University Cattlemen’s Association.

Boggs plans to become an agricultural estate planning attorney. His goal is to help keep family farms in the family “and operating as food-producing assets on which families will make generational memories instead of being sold off to corporations or subdivided for development like so many of them are.”

When he graduates from Missouri State, he plans to go to law school and use his G.I. Bill to pay for it. He was humbled and struck by the fact that someone would establish a scholarship to assist a stranger: “Their generosity will not be forgotten.”

Ian Campbell: Combat medic now in doctoral program

Ian Campbell is a critical-care registered nurse who served as a combat medic in the U.S. Army.

MSU Scholarship shows “people truly care”

Campbell was raised on a small farm in Aurora, Missouri, and his family has deep roots in the military.

“I knew coming out of high school that I wanted to serve like those before me,” he said.

Campbell was stationed in Afghanistan, Africa and Central America. Seeing wounded soldiers led him to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist, or CRNA.

When he enrolled in the Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program at Missouri State, Campbell received the John and Fredna Mahaffey Operation Promise scholarship.

It was established for veterans. John Mahaffey served in the U.S. Army from 1944-46 and spent his life as a champion for soldiers. He was appointed as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army in 1974 and served under five presidents.

Mahaffey established the Fort Leonard Wood chapter of the Wounded Warrior Fund and received two lifetime achievement awards from the Association of the U.S. Army and Fort Leonard Wood.

“Obtaining the John and Fredna Mahaffey scholarship reaffirms that people truly care about the sacrifices me and my family have made during 14 years in service,” Campbell said.

He met MSU alumni in the field before coming here

Campbell has performed combat operations, humanitarian operations and host-nation training. During his time in Afghanistan with a surgical team, he worked closely with certified registered
nurse anesthetists. They inspired him as they provided life-saving care to traumatically injured soldiers in an austere environment.

“It was my time with them that highlighted the capabilities, professionalism and expertise that CRNA providers bring to medicine,” Campbell said. “I was motivated by their ability to practice anesthesia in such high stakes, high stress and hostile environments.”

Several CRNAs and trauma surgeons with whom he served wrote him letters of recommendation and encouraged him to apply.

Campbell chose Missouri State because he was aware of its excellent reputation: Some of the CRNAs with whom he served were alumni who spoke highly of the program. The program is demanding, and there is no time to work outside of school, so the scholarship helps him fill in financial holes.

“This will help in numerous ways to offset the cost of education and relieve strain from a tight budget,” Campbell said. “Ultimately, the scholarship will help me reach my educational goal of becoming a nurse anesthetist— a career that will allow me the ability to care for my community and my loved ones. I am truly honored to receive this scholarship.”