ECU earns 2026-27 Military Friendly School designation

East Carolina University has been recognized nationally for creating meaningful educational pathways for military-affiliated students.

ECU has been named a Gold-level Military Friendly School and Military Spouse Friendly School by VIQTORY, a service-disabled, veteran-owned business.

“Being recognized as a Military Friendly Gold institution reflects years of intentional work across the university to support veterans and military-connected students,” said Dr. Nicole Binder, associate director of student engagement in the ECU Military & Veterans Resource Center.

As part of her internship this semester, Danielle Robinson, a social work major, talks with a student in the ECU Military & Veterans Resource Center.

“At ECU, that means building real pathways, from transition support and orientation to leadership development and career readiness, so our military-connected students not only enroll here but succeed once they arrive and continue to thrive throughout their careers after graduation,” Binder said.

ECU was a natural fit for Danielle Robinson, a U.S. Navy veteran and La Grange native.

“It’s close to home, has a strong veteran presence and is also a family legacy — my mother, sister and cousin are all ECU alums, so this place felt like part of my story before I ever walked through the door,” Robinson said. “More than geography or tradition, though, ECU had the programs and people to support where I want to go.”

Robinson served from 2013 to 2019 with the USS Essex Landing Helicopter Deck-2 and the Tactical Operations Center in Jacksonville, Florida. She is completing her bachelor’s in social work in May and will immediately begin ECU’s advanced standing Master of Social Work program.

She is president of the Pirate Veterans Organization, has been involved with SHIP (School and Home Integrated Parenting) and volunteered with the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center. She is completing her field placement internship through the School of Social Work where she works on campus in the ECU Military & Veterans Resource Center in the Main Campus Student Center. The MVRC connects students to academic and career resources, veteran orientation and leadership programs.

During her internship, Robinson has provided benefits counseling and program development, and has facilitated the Veterans Leadership Academy — “one of the most meaningful things I’ve done in my time here,” she said.

“The MVRC has been central to my experience here,” Robinson said. “Having a dedicated space and staff who genuinely understand the military transition — the paperwork, the culture shift, the identity adjustment — makes a real difference. I came in as a student and ended up working within that same office, which says everything about how much it meant to me. ECU didn’t just support me academically; it gave me a community.”

Serving in the Navy created the foundation for everything she’s doing now, Robinson said.

“It shaped how I show up, how I advocate and why veterans’ well-being is so personal to me,” she said.

Her long-term goal is to become a researcher and professor focused on veterans’ mental health and well-being — “producing scholarship that reaches the people making policy and the practitioners doing the work,” Robinson said. “ECU has been a big part of building that path, and I hope to give back to this community for a long time to come.”

Designations like Military Friendly Schools matter more than institutions sometimes realize, Robinson said.

“When a veteran is researching schools, those designations signal that real work has been done to understand their needs. It can be the difference between a student applying and a student scrolling past. But the designation has to be backed by actual resources and culture, because veterans talk to each other and word travels fast,” she said.

The recognition adds to several that ECU has received specifically for supporting military-affiliated students through the years including U.S. News & World Report and the Military Times Best for Vets rankings, placing it among the top schools in North Carolina.

Visit the Military Friendly website for more information.

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