Veteran alumni returns to Purdue to serve military-affiliated community
Morgan Gamble joined the military at 17, thrived as a student at Purdue and returned to make a difference at the Dorothy Stratton Veteran and Military Success Center.
When Morgan Gamble returned to Purdue, she found herself at significant moment of alignment of her personal and professional values. She came back to the university in a professional capacity at the Dorothy Stratton Veteran and Military Success Center (VMSC), one of the places she found support and opportunities to serve as a student.
Through her role as director, Gamble is able to focus on what matters to her — enhancing the military-affiliated student experience. She connects to the mission of the VMSC through advocating from her own experience as a student once supported by it. These students need nontraditional types of support, which she’s able to recognize — and give.
Basic training
In high school, Gamble opted to start her service in the military by meeting training obligations in the summers.
While the typical high school senior is soaking in their final days of school and wondering what might come next, Gamble was bouncing back from 12 weeks of physically and mentally challenging 18-hour days. She took that resharpened drive and funneled it into her studies and extracurricular activities.
The initial training was a formative experience. “It doesn’t matter who you are with, how old they are or where anyone comes from. You are working with people of all ages, walks of life and ways of thinking. It is such a valuable lesson to learn to learn early in life, to know how to work together and create an environment where you must harness individual strengths.”
After graduation from initial training and high school, she advanced to her next phase of military training. During that summer, she started to understand her experience as an incoming freshman would be different in college.
“I left to learn about my specific role in the service. While there, I was making arrangements to start at Purdue. Something that I was navigating with little time and minimal support and resources,” Gamble says.
“Somehow, I fell onto the radar of the VMSC at Purdue. From my understanding, I had been enrolled in a peer-to-peer program that would connect me with another affiliated student. There is a photo of me sitting on my duffel bag, full of all of my belongings, on the phone. I was talking to a student from the Purdue Veterans Center who shared so many instructions and walked me through everything. ‘This is how you do this, this is how you do that, this is how financial aid works, here is a point of contact for housing. We will see you on our veteran tour day.’”
It was the perfect timing for someone to reach out to her. Before, she felt overwhelmed by the process and felt she was already behind. After, she was grateful that people at Purdue were able to connect large gaps and explain the resources available to support Boilermakers.
Purdue days
Gamble thrived at Purdue as she pursued her bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology. She spent several years serving on leadership boards for student organizations, including the Purdue Student Veterans Organization, and tried to remain actively engaged in the VMSC.
Some of Gamble’s favorite service projects connected home insecure veterans to housing and support through a variety of local resources. She also assisted in identifying and celebrating professors who went above and beyond for their affiliated students.
Both the Purdue Student Veteran Organization and the VMSC serve a diverse group of military- and Purdue-connected individuals.
“We serve dependents of service members, veterans and those currently serving. We serve a wide variety of people who have completely different stories,” she says. “The one thing that connects us all is a passion for service.”
Career and Values
In 2021 Gamble found out she had been hired as assistant director of the VMSC. She was over the moon.
“I could not believe I would be heading back to Purdue, where I thrived as a student. Everywhere I turned, I had a coach or mentor or professor trying to help me, so I was excited to go back to such a supportive, vibrant environment,” she says.
It reminded her of the time spent serving as a leader on campus.
Gamble started in her role at the VMSC just before Veterans Day, the Nov. 11 holiday she describes as an opportunity to recognize all sacrifices, both big and small, made by veterans: “It’s saying thank you for doing what you did when you didn’t have to.”
In 2022 she was promoted to director of the VMSC.
In 2025 Purdue and its campuses earned top honors for service to military students. The Collegiate Purple Star of Indiana is awarded to outstanding institutions on behalf of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Purdue was recognized for its dedication to military-affiliated students — made possible by resources and support like the VMSC.
The honor was a multiyear, multi-department effort. For Gamble, organizing the support to interact with the state in this capacity was exciting, and she was met with support every step of the way. Gamble thanks the many offices in Enrollment Management who supported the project and jumped right in when prompted to think creatively.
“This project enhanced our ability to support students. It truly pushed the needle,” she says.
The one thing that connects us all is a passion for service.”
Morgan Gamble
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