When Lara Lincoln joined the Air Force at 17, she was just a few weeks from becoming a first-generation high school graduate with an uncertain future. Having excelled in Junior ROTC, she looked to the military for opportunities she wouldn’t otherwise have access to. Later that year, upon arriving to serve as a personnelist at Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Texas, she was handed a thick Emergency Response binder during her onboarding.
“You’ll likely never need to use this,” they told her, “but in case of a large-scale emergency, you’re the point person for the Squadron.” A year later, the Airman First Class found herself leading the response coordination for the 17th Communication Squadron on September 11, 2001 — demonstrating that every role in the military, even the administrative, serves a critical mission.
Though her active duty service was cut short by medical separation, her commitment to serving others was just beginning. As a 2014-15 Chancellor’s Fellow, she helped transform student veteran support at Carolina. She proposed the military application fee waiver (now system-wide); proposed and wrote the job description for UNC’s first full-time student veteran assistance coordinator; and advocated for the establishment of a student veterans resource center, which was established soon after and just reopened in a new location this year. She also directed the inaugural Warrior-Scholar Project at UNC.
“My term of service wasn’t long, but through it and as a dependent after, I understood firsthand the extraordinary sacrifices servicemembers and their families make,” she reflected. “I continue to serve now because I believe it’s invaluable to create a community that truly understands the needs of those it serves.” Through her role as CVAN co-founder and communications officer, she’s ensuring that understanding translates into meaningful support and lasting change.
“I am so incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to leave such a deep heel print at Carolina — and one in the shape of a boot.”
“I am a veteran. I am a Tar Heel.”