Recent federal grant suspensions at UCLA have affected hundreds of research projects and training programs, including Veterans in STEM. Lead facilitator of the program and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Jason Williams is working with faculty and other veterans to find a way forward.
Jason Williams’ last deployment as a Marine was nearly 20 years ago, during the second Iraq War. He still walks with a military bearing as he heads for an office in the Geology Building.
There, along with geoscientist and climate scientist Aradhna Tripati, he and other veterans involved in research talk through a problem: The grant that funded their program has been suspended.
“There’s a lot of anxiety in the air, and nobody really knows what’s going to happen,” Williams said. “We’re trying to figure out what we can do for these students who did everything right.”
Veterans in STEM is among many programs hit by recent federal grant suspensions, disrupting the work Williams and Tripati are focused on: helping student veterans get the lab experience often required for graduate school applications, while building a sense of community that many veterans miss after active duty.
“Veterans often don’t feel like they belong in academia,” Williams said. “We’re older, we’ve had different life experiences, and we’re looking for a sense of camaraderie that’s hard to find on campus.”
At 41, Williams is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in chemical biology. His research focuses on materials for health and wellness products.
Williams is open about the challenges he faced in education. He graduated from a continuation school and struggled with a low GPA. Courses at eight community colleges were part of his journey, and it took him 14 years to earn his undergraduate degree.
At UCLA, he found his footing. This summer, Williams was named a Tillman Scholar. Named for former U.S. Army Ranger and NFL star Pat Tillman, the scholarship provides service members, veterans and spouses with financial support, leadership development, and a community of peers and mentors.
As with his other achievements, Williams earned the scholarship partly through perseverance.
“It was my third application,” Williams said. “Being named a Tillman Scholar is not just a recognition of my past. It’s a call to continue building pathways for others who, like me, were told they didn’t belong in spaces like this.”
Williams is working to lift other veterans into the realm of research at the postgraduate level. Through Veterans in STEM and his own fledgling organization, Elements of Equity, he invites student veterans from Southern California community colleges to present their work at UCLA.
“Elements of Equity is about giving people a second chance,” Williams said. “I’ve seen brilliant minds miss the academic finish line for reasons that have nothing to do with ability. We remove barriers and open doors to research careers.”
For now, Williams and his colleagues are focused on duty, looking for gap solutions in an uncertain environment.
