Casey Phillips

Class of 2012, Infantry Team Leader, U.S. Marine Corps

Casey Phillips saw the statue of Saddam Hussein fall during his deployment to Iraq in 2003 with the U.S. Marine Corps, and is now seeing what it's like to be a student at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Phillips was an infantry team leader in the Marines, and received a combat action ribbon, presidential unit citation, two overseas deployment, good conduct and national defense honors during his deployments.

Now, he has turned to A&M-Commerce to earn his degree in agricultural education, which he wants to use to “continue to make a difference and be a leader in my community.”

His efforts in the Marines helped him pay for an education, and he chose A&M-Commerce to earn a degree for multiple reasons.

“It's small and everyone has been really helpful, and all the instructors want us to learn as much as possible,” Phillips said. He added that it was close to home and the price of classes helped in his search for a university.