Antonio Morales Named 2024 Tri-C Student Veteran of the Year
Army veteran will be honored at Nov. 11 ceremony at Cleveland City Hall
Throughout his military duty and his subsequent civilian career, Antonio Morales has dedicated himself to providing medical care for others. The Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) student and former U.S. Army medic will receive the 2024 Tri-C Student Veteran of the Year Award in a Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11 at Cleveland City Hall.
Morales is working toward an Associate of Science in Biology and hopes to become a physician's assistant.
"It's an honor to receive this recognition, and I plan to accept this award on behalf of all the veterans I served alongside who inspired me to always accept new challenges, pursue excellence, self-improvement, and be resilient in the process," Morales said.
Morales said that Tri-C's Veteran and Military Connected Services team has provided him with "guidance, mentorship and helped make the College into a place of purpose and belonging."
A native of Cleveland, Morales graduated from James Ford Rhodes High School in 2004 and enlisted that summer in the U.S. Army as a medic. After completing basic training, medic school and airborne school, he was stationed at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, and served as a line medic with the 82nd Airborne Division.
Morales deployed to Iraq twice. During his first tour of duty in Iraq from 2006-2007, he earned the Combat Medical Badge for his service. After he was honorably discharged in 2008, he served in the Army Reserve until 2012 and made a second tour of duty in Iraq from 2010-2011.
As a civilian, Morales has continued working in emergency medicine for 16-plus years as an EMT and paramedic.
"This award is a symbol of what veterans are capable of when supported by their communities," Morales said. "This support is exactly what convinced me to stay at Tri-C to complete my Associate of Science degree and prerequisites for physician assistant school."
The staff at Tri-C’s veteran centers work with hundreds of military families each year through its veteran service centers, which offer a full array of support services to help veterans reach educational and career goals as they transition from military service to civilian life.
The centers are located at the Eastern Campus in Highland Hills, the Metropolitan Campus in Cleveland, the Western Campus in Parma, the Westshore Campus in Westlake and the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland.
November 06, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu