Necole Gonsahn, left, salutes a fellow military member during her time in the U.S. Army Reserve. Photo courtesy of Necole Gonsahn.
When Necole Gonsahn began attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2023, she had no idea what to expect after her 75-minute commute.
The Cartersville, Georgia, native had recently been medically separated from the military and was figuring out her next step.
Through her love of Chattanooga, she decided that the long commute to UTC was worth it to pursue a Master of Education degree in counseling.
Before joining UTC, Gonsahn served in the U.S. Army Reserve while also attending Mercer University—where she majored in psychology—through the military’s Simultaneous Membership Program.
Injuring her knee led to surgery, four rounds of physical therapy, and nearly 18 months of limited mobility while she completed her undergraduate degree. It was then that a cyst was found in her knee. She was medically discharged from the military in 2022.
She still deals with chronic pain to this day.
“I had planned on spending 20 years in the military,” Gonsahn said. “I began to spiral in a way. I wanted to take the experience that I had and use it to help others. I decided to seek out a graduate school for my master’s in counseling to be a military counselor—working with veterans and their families.”
While in high school, Gonsahn was accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. She was a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) cadet and a member of the ROTC program, which began at the collegiate level.
Service has always been a significant part of her life, especially her time in the military.
“I definitely don’t think I would be where I am now if it had not been for my time in the military,” she said. “For me, service has been a thread throughout my whole life. I have always taken to being of service.
“I was a Girl Scout. I volunteered at my church. I did JROTC in high school. I did ROTC in college. I was president of several organizations and things like that. Even now, I serve on the board of a couple of organizations, one of which is the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) of Georgia.”
While serving on the FVC board, Gonsahn focuses on mental health care and substance use in the community.
“Being able to have that experience of being in the military strengthens that desire to give back and to really chase after that one,” she said. “The Bible says God left the 99 to go after the one. I really try to emphasize that in my day-to-day life.”
Necole Gonsahn received a Master of Education degree in counseling from UTC in May 2025. Photo courtesy of Necole Gonsahn.
Starting at UTC in 2023, she began working as a graduate assistant with the Office of Student and Family Engagement, where she was connected with the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (VMA).
Gonsahn was able to support VMA and establish a connection on campus. She partnered with the 2024 Veterans Day program and helped organize the campus festivities.
“We had students from all over campus sign thank-you notes, ‘Appreciate your service,’ and different little notes to commemorate our student veterans on campus,” she recalled. “Letting them know that they have a community and they have supporters there on campus. Being able to have a hand in that event was truly humbling and probably the best experience that I had with them.”
Graduating from UTC in May 2025, Gonsahn currently works as a primary therapist at Fairland Recovery Center in Rome, Georgia.
“I primarily do individual and group therapy with about 60 or so men,” she said. “That’s our current population. They have substance use disorders but also have co-occurring mental health disorders. Right now I’m serving as a therapist there and it’s been an enjoyable season.”
Gonsahn said the most important thing about her time at UTC is the community she was able to participate in and support.
“Community is what I felt and experienced both in my program with VMA and being a graduate assistant over the course of my time at UTC,” she said. “I was a commuter student. I didn’t live near the city. Meeting up with VMA before my classes or meeting up with friends to talk about different things on campus really helped me feel more connected to campus without actually being there all the time.
“I thought I would feel isolated because of being an adult student, a graduate student and not really feeling like I’m even near campus the majority of the time. But that was far from the case. Community is the thing I will remember.”
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