Philip RollingerPhillip Rollinger
President/Treasurer

Rollinger attended boot camp at Paris Island in 2011. He was then stationed at Camp Lejeune with the Military Occupational Specialty of Correctional Officer. In 2013, Rollinger attended Marine Security Guard School. He was then stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada for one year. Rollinger achieved the rank of Corporal in 2014.

He was then stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Windhoek, Namibia for one year. Rollinger was then stationed at Marine Corps Base Quantico for one year as part of the Marine Security Guard Security Augmentation Unit. In that duty station, he was sent to Paris, France; Bueno Aires, Argentina; Hanover, Germany; Ottawa, Canada; Islamabad, Pakistan; Karachi, Pakistan; and Peshawar, Pakistan. Rollinger received an honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps in 2016.

Kenneth PetersonKenneth Peterson
Vice President

Hello my name is Kenneth Peterson, I joined the military at age 22 and was in the Army from 2003–2012. I attended boot camp at Fort Benning, Georgia. During my time in the military, I deployed three times to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. Each deployment lasted more than a year. I joined the military to be a 77F (Petroleum Supply Specialist), which switched the numbers to 92F. After doing that MOS for less than a year, I changed MOS to a 13B (Field Artillery). I was in 2/320th FA, 1st Brigade, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

I now attend LTU as a nursing student. This is the first year for the nursing program here at LTU, so be in this program is an honor. This program is different from other programs, for the simple fact that when you are accepted to LTU for this program, you are automatically accepted into the nursing program. A normal nursing program you will take two years of prerequisite course and then apply to nursing school and wait to be accepted. Here at LTU, once you are accepted, nursing classes start the first day. I look forward to graduating in 2021 and starting a great career in Nursing.

Nicole EvangelistaNicole Evangelista
Public Affairs/Social Media Chair

I am currently in my senior year at LTU pursuing a bachelor of science in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics. I have never served in the military, but I have recently been accepted to the Science, Math and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for service program through the Department of Defense. In the future, I will be working for the Navy to fulfill this service requirement and hope to also be a part of the Naval Officer Reserves.

Being able to be a part of the LTU Veteran’s group has provided me with resources and connections that would otherwise be unavailable to me. This year, I was able to attend the SVA National Conference for 2018 and had the opportunity to learn about the programs available to veterans returning to school as well as the benefits available to veterans and their families. Although I am not a veteran, I fully support the group and look forward to seeing how it will grow in the future.

Richard JohnstonRichard Johnston, PhD
Veterans Advisor

Johnston spent the first three years after St. Benedict High School managing a McDonald’s and attending Macomb Community College. In 1969, he joined the U.S. Navy and spent three years in the Navy as a RADAR and TACAN Technician before being medically discharged (honorably), and finishing his BSEE from Wayne State University in 1978. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked as institutional dervice manager for Wurlitzer Music Stores.

Johnston spent two years at Motorola in Chicago as an electronic engineer and two years at the Gulbransen Organ Co. as manager of Advanced Circuit Design before finishing his MSEE at Wayne State in 1984. He spent six years on the faculty of Wayne State University, finished his doctorate in 1993 also from Wayne State, and is currently professor emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Lawrence Technological University. Johnston’s research interests include Power Electronics, Variable Speed Drives, and the use of modern personal computers and software in the practice of Electrical Engineering. He is a life member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV).