United States Army veteran and Syracuse University undergraduate student Janina Rios enlisted into the U.S. Army in October 2010, and three days after her high school graduation she shipped out to Basic Training
Hometown Hero
Hometown Hero: Kristin Hughes
United States Army Sergeant First Class and Syracuse Police Officer Kristin Hughes hails from Syracuse, New York. Kristin attended Bishop Grimes High School where she played soccer and graduated in 2012. She later became the Bishop Grimes girls assistant head soccer coach in 2017 for one year.
Hometown Hero: Charlie Poag
United States Marine Corps veteran and Syracuse University senior Charlie Poag enlisted in the Marine Corps in the summer of 2001 and completed boot camp two weeks prior to the tragic events of 9/11.
Hometown Hero: Kirsten Brandes
Staff Sergeant Kirsten Brandes enlisted in the Air Force in January of 2015. During her nearly six years of service as a Broadcast Journalist, she has served at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; Incirlik Air Base, Turkey; and Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Syracuse University Tillman Scholar and Air Force Veteran, Laura Buys, honored as Hometown Hero vs. Georgia Tech
United States Air Force veteran Laura Buys of Saint Paul, Minnesota, enlisted in the Air Force and became an operations intelligence analyst in 2012. In 2014, she deployed to Qatar in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Inherent Resolve. She later joined the prestigious Cobra Ball in Alaska and Japan while supporting international treaty verification.
Hometown Hero: J-R Williams
United States Army Master Sergeant (Retired) Jennifer-Rebeccah “J-R” Williams hails from Pulaski, New York and enlisted in the Army in 1996 as a Broadcast Journalist and Public Affairs Specialist. J-R served 22 and a half years in the Army before retiring from active duty in 2018.
Hometown Hero: Amanda Sullivan
United States Army Veteran Amanda Sullivan was born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Aurora, IL. In 2014, she enlisted in the Army and attended basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and received military occupation training as a supply specialist at Fort Lee, Virginia.
Hometown Hero: Kent Redmond
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Kent Redmond hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota and enlisted in the United States Army in 2007 as a broadcast journalist. In 2008, he married his wonderful wife, Tara.
Hometown Hero: Timothy Monczynski
United States Army Captain Tim Monczynski was born in Watertown, New York, raised in Rochester, and graduated from Penfield High School in 2008. Tim attended Medaille College in Buffalo and was commissioned as a Transportation Corps Officer in 2012.
Hometown Hero: Nicklaus Brinka
United States Army veteran and Syracuse University Army Senior ROTC Cadet Nicklaus Brinka served as a Human Intelligence Collector for 42 months on active duty in the United States Army. Nicklaus served with Delta Company, 41st Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York.