Coastal Carolina University student Samuel Casey has been named to the 2017 Student Veterans Fellowship Class with nine others from across the country. The fellowship program is a collaboration between the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Student Veterans of America (SVA).

The 10 fellows will join more than 500 members of the VFW when they gather on Capitol Hill from Feb. 25 to March 2 to advocate on behalf of all veterans, service members and their families. The 10 students were chosen from across the country based on a policy proposal submitted on an issue requiring federal legislative action.

Casey, a senior intelligence and national security studies major with a minor in global studies, served in the U.S. Army. He is from Conway.

"Opportunities such as this allow student veterans to see into the workings of legislation and how laws are formed, thus giving them an advantage in working with community issues," said Casey, who aspires to be a legislative aide.

Brian Duffy, national commander of the VFW, said the fellowship program aims to work with exemplary student veterans to hone their skills as advocates on campus, in the community and on the national stage. "The VFW sees this fellowship as yet another way of supporting our shared mission with SVA to transform today's scholars into tomorrow's leaders," he said.

In order to be considered for the fellowship, each student veteran submitted a policy proposal addressing a veteran's issue through federal legislative action. Casey's policy proposal dealt with assisting veterans with getting jobs in the healthcare field or with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. He proposed creating scholarships for veterans to help them afford to return to school to further their chosen careers.