US Navy Student Veteran receives University of Georgia Presidential Award of Excellence

Mary Frances Early College of Education student, Dan Triplett, was selected as a Presidential Award of Excellence recipient for Spring 2026, an honor reserved for the top one percent of the University of Georgia (UGA) undergraduate student body. The Award of Excellence is presented to students who have demonstrated academic achievement, have strong extracurricular involvement, and service or involvement in their respective school or college.

Dan joined the military in 2014 and served as a catapult operator on an aircraft until 2022. After being accepted at UGA, Dan quickly found a home in the Student Veterans Resource Center (SVRC). During his time in the military, he learned the importance of leadership and mentoring, something he missed until he started working with student veterans.

He not only served in guiding and mentoring more than 100 new student veterans each year as a student staff member, he also led the UGA Chapter of the Student Veterans of America (SVA). As SVA President, Dan was responsible for strengthening engagement among new student veterans transitioning from the military to a Tier 1 Research institution and is credited for the 30 percent increase in number of student veterans involved in military and veteran specific events over the previous year.

A stand-out leader and staunch supporter of his peers, Triplett was selected as a prestigious Berkman Scholar to provide well-being support to more than 370 student veterans located across five campuses.

Dan was soon thereafter recognized among the nation’s top student veterans for excellence as a leader in the community by GI Jobs Magazine in November of 2024.

Dan will graduate with honors in May 2026 and has been accepted into the Mary Frances College of Education, Master of Education program for Social Studies Education beginning in the fall.