Mr. Robert A. Murphy is a graduate of the Darla Moore School of Business at University of South Carolina, with a Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Science Business Administration, and a Minor in Professional Writing.

Mr. Murphy served over 30 years in a myriad of international, national, and community-based positions. He is a military veteran with zeal, passion of quality leadership and team success, and is highly regarded as an expert in community relations, military veteran community reintegration, team building, and results-based leadership.

Robert was born in Upstate New York, loves the Adirondack Mountains, and misses the “feet” of snow that comes with living in Upstate New York.

Prior to joining the USC Aiken Team, Mr. Murphy served on Capitol Hill as the Director, United Stated Capitol Police Special Operations Unit protecting Congress from Weapons of Mass Destruction threats. Before his time on the Hill, Robert completed over 20 years of honorable service as a United States Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer-4. He held the position of Immediate Response Force Executive Officer and Operations Officer assigned to 4th Marine Expeditionary Force Anti-Terrorism. Mr. Murphy led Marines in both national and international operations participating in Operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle.

In his current position, he established the Office of Veteran and Military Student Success, which has seen a 116% enrollment increase, and a rapid increase in retention, progression, and graduation rates. Among several other prestigious awards, Military Times ranks USC Aiken as the #1 Best for Vets Universities in South Carolina. Mr. Murphy’s veteran and military student success practices are often cited as a national model for holistic reintegration and success services through collaborative community partnerships.

Mr. Murphy is also an Adjunct Professor in the University School of Business Administration. He loves the two courses he teaches: Principles of Management and Leadership, and Social, Ethical and Legal Aspects of Business. He is motivated to invest in the lives of students who aspire to realize their full leadership potential.

Robert’s community involvement includes being on the Board of Director’s for the Saratoga Warhorse Foundation. Saratoga WarHorse offers veterans a three-day experience that has proven to be effective and invaluable for those struggling to adjust to life after military service. The program is provided at no cost to the veterans.

Robert is proud to mention, he completed all of his formal education optimizing his Post 9/11 G.I. Bill.

Jessica Molidor graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. She was born in Monterrey, Mexico and raised in Houston, Texas. She has lived in Texas most of her life until she recently moved to Fort Gordon with her husband.

Mrs. Molidor is enjoying the area so far and hopes to get more involved in the CSRA community.

In her current position, she serves the Office of Veteran and Military Student Success as VMSS Program Coordinator and the School Certifying Official for Veteran and Military Student benefits. She is very excited to be able to help USC Aiken students and be a part of the VMSS team.

She plans to get her Master’s Degree in Higher Education and hopes to gain experience that will help her become a great leader.

Ms. Samantha Dominguez is a sophomore pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Sociology. She is currently in charge of the daily administrative aspects of the Veteran and Military Student Success Center, as well as Front Office responsibilities. She is also a member of the national Society of Leadership and Success, as well as a MCL Riverfront Marine Photographer.

Samantha is a proud daughter of two Marine veterans, Stepdaughter to a Navy veterans, and Stepsister to a Navy Veteran. She was born in Oceanside, California, and like most military dependent children, she frequently moved to new locations. She had the privilege of living in Stuttgart, Germany, and all across the southern United States. This allowed her to experience many different cultures, languages, and many military functions.

She volunteered at Charlie Norwood, VA Medical Center of Augusta, Georgia while still attending High School, for three years. After her parents' retirement, she began volunteering her time to help military veterans, and acted as a photographer for the Marine Corps League, Riverfront Marines Detachment #1132.

The experiences she gained with her volunteer experience inspired her to seek out an opportunity to work with more veterans and led her to become a team member of USCA VMSSC where she is a lead team member in administrative facilitation and social media enterprises.

After graduation Samantha hopes to continue her education and gain a Master of Science in Sociology, and to eventually transition into a position as a social worker for the VA, so she may continue to help veterans.

Rebecca is a junior Sociology major with a focus on criminal justice. She is from Seattle Washington and has lived in South Carolina for almost 2 years now. Both of her parents were in the military; her dad was in the Navy for 20 years, and her mom was in the Army. She is one of the managers for the USC Aiken baseball team and has been doing that for 4 years now, both high school and college. She is excited to continue to be a part of the VMSS team with her friends and fellow students.

Ms. Kaitlyn Baxa is a freshman and pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education.

Kaitlyn was born in Slippery Rock, PA, but has been a South Carolina resident since she was the age of 4. Kaitlyn has always been one to give back to community and serve as a leader within her community and her school. Throughout middle and high school, she was captain of her cheerleading teams. While in high school, she became a part of FFA, culinary, volunteered with Helping Hands on Fort Jackson, and was captain of her bowling team. Kaitlyn is also a proud daughter of an Army Veteran of 29 years. Like her sister, she was raised on a set of moral and ethical values taught by her father.

With this in mind, Kaitlyn strived to be a part of the USCA community from the time she has arrived. She has joined the sorority Alpha Omicron Pi and has taken over the leadership positon of VP of administration and recording secretary. She became a part of the VMSS team in the Spring of 2019.

Once she graduates, Kaitlyn plans to pursue her dream of teaching kids so that she may have a part in molding the minds of the next generation.

Jayma was born and raised in Greer, SC and graduated from Winthrop University with a Bachelor's of Arts in Psychology. She is currently enrolled at the University of South Carolina Aiken in the Master of Clinical Applied Psychology program.

Jayma applied and was hired for the position as a Veteran Transition Success Advocated for the Office of Veteran and Military Student Success through the graduate student internship at USC Aiken. In this role, she speaks with all incoming military affiliated members of the VMSS cohort on a one-on-one basis to ensure that their college transition is going as smoothly as possible.

After graduation Jayma hopes to continue her education by obtaining her PhD in Clinical Psychology, with the hopes of becoming a grief therapist.

Josh was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina but was raised in North Augusta, South Carolina. After high school, he enlisted in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman for 6 years. During his enlistment, he was attached to 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines in Camp Lejeune and assigned to a naval clinic in Port Hueneme, California prior to separation. After the Navy, Josh decided to return to where he had called home in hopes to make a positive impact on the community.

Josh elected to go USC Aiken in pursuit of higher education to prepare himself for the future. Becoming a part of the work study at USC Aiken was important to him because he wants to be an advocate for those involved with VMSS and help other veterans.

Josh hopes to graduate and find employment in the CSRA.

Jason Fallaw is pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and is excited to be a part of the VMSS Team.

Jason is from the small town of Monetta, SC but was born in Augusta, GA. His father served in the Marines, and Jason followed his footsteps and joined the Marines in August of 2018. He plans to pursue his Master’s and Doctorate Degree after he graduates. Jason intends on becoming a therapist, specializing in PTSD treatment.

Jason wants everyone to know how dedicated each member of this team is to both Veterans and military family members. Every meeting is centered on improving these individuals’ lives both directly and indirectly. Constantly brainstorming, and trying to come up with new and improved ideas on how to involve every member of our cohort. Jason realized how important it is to provide a sense of belonging to the cohort, and he strives to do exactly that.

Jason does not have one particular thing that he enjoys doing on his free time, but more-so a bunch of different interest. He enjoys trying new food from new places, discovering new hiking/walking trails, and occasionally playing video games. He has an insatiable sense of discovery, so anything that can scratch that itch has his interest.

Rachel is currently a Junior pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a concentration in clinical and applied psychology. Her current duties include Front Office operations ensuring that student benefits are processed expeditiously.

Rachel is originally from Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania but moved with her family to Charlotte, NC in 1989. She graduated from West Mecklenburg High School in June 1998 and attended Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC in August 1998.

Rachel is an Army Retiree who served 21 years in the Satellite Communications Field in roles ranging from team member to company First Sergeant. She enjoyed duty assignments that included working in the Training and Development of Soldiers, Satellite Control Facilities, to Special Operations assignments that took her to 5 states and over 12 countries on four continents. She is also a proud military spouse of an Army Retired First Sergeant who served for 23 years. Rachel and her awesome spouse Donnie have three beautiful children, Abigail 17, Hailey 10, and Daniel 2.

She is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and the Student Veterans Organization. She also volunteers with the Augusta Family Y to coach youth soccer.

Whitney Worden is pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Sociology with a concentration in Human Services and a minor in Psychology.

Whitney was born and raised in Washington State and is very excited to be on the warmer side of the U.S. She is currently a reservist in the Army and is enjoying being a student at USC Aiken. Outside of the VMSS office and class, you can find her involved in the Performing Arts in the Etheredge Center since one of Whitney’s biggest passions is music and performing.

A fun fact about Whitney is she is a huge Disney fan and even had the opportunity to work at Disneyland. From that experience, she knows tons of facts about Disney and their parks. In her free time, she loves to be involved in the performing arts, play video games, and watch movies.

Whitney’s ultimate goal for the future is to continue her military career as an officer and get her Master’s in Social Work. Whitney plans on living life to the fullest and trying to make this world a better place.

“Hold the vision, trust the process” – Unknown

Kayla Hall was born in Glasgow, KY and graduated from the University of Kentucky with her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Kayla was active in marching and concert band throughout college and high school, where she was Drum Major for 3 years. She is currently a student in the USCA Master of Applied Clinical Psychology Program.

Prior to working at the VMSS, Kayla was a Behavioral Health Associate at an outpatient community mental health center in Kentucky, where she learned to implement coping skills, manage risk, and increase personal insight in the patients she met with. Her goal in joining the VMSS was to understand how to facilitate growth in our military-affiliated students by using a capacity-performance model.

Kayla applied and was hired for the position as a Veteran Transition Success Advocate for the Office of Veteran and Military Student Success through the graduate student internship at USC Aiken. In this role, she speaks with all incoming military affiliated members of the VMSS cohort on a one-on-one basis to ensure that their college transition is going as smoothly as possible. Whether it be through mental health services, learning new study skills, or simply having a “safe space” on campus, she hopes to be a source of support for military affiliated students.

After graduation, Kayla plans to continue her education through a PhD in Clinical Psychology, which will allow her to fulfill her goals of conducting therapy and research related to PTSD and substance abuse.

Kristin Hontz is a junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in communication.

Kristin is from Hazleton, Pennsylvania and enlisted in the United States Navy directly after high school. After the Navy, she moved to Aiken and worked as a 911 dispatcher for Aiken County for four years. She is excited to join the VMSS team as a Student Success Advocate to help fellow students.

After graduation, Kristin hopes move to Florida and settle near the ocean.