Pat Tillman Foundation Scholars

We at Quillen College of Medicine take great pride in our nation's veterans, and we are honored to have served not one, but two Pat Tillman Foundation Scholars. The Pat Tillman Foundation awards academic scholarships to outstanding military service members, veterans and spouses who make a positive impact around the world.

Tillman Scholars at Quillen

Ben Welch

Captain | United States Marine Corps (2004-2018)
Quillen College of Medicine Student
2019 Pat Tillman Foundation Scholar

Meet Our Tillman Scholar

Ben enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2004 and initially served as a rifleman and scout sniper. After earning his degree, he became a logistics officer where he led a motor transportation platoon, served as an installation operations officer and headquaters company commander. During his time in the Marines he deployed three times, once to Ramadi, Iraq, and twice aboard amphibious assault ships to train with foreign militaries and support contingency operations. Ben plans to continue his medical training in psychiatry and feels truly blessed to be a part of the Quillen family.

Jay Johnston, M.D.

United States Army
Quillen College of Medicine Graduate
2014 Pat Tillman Foundation Scholar

Meet Our Tillman Scholar

As a native of Smryna, Tennessee, Dr. Johnston enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1996 and became an Infantryman. Later, he decided to join the Army in order to serve in the Army's Special Forces (SF), the Green Berets. He was then selected to begin training in uncoventional warefare in 2000. Dr. Johnston earned his Green Beret only weeks before 9/11. Upon graduation, he was assigned to Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA), which had already received orders for Afghanistan. That deployment was the first of his seven combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, and also marked the beginning of his 13 years as an SF medic and Team Sergeant. Due to continuous training and deployments in support of war and his team, it took seven years of night school to finish his undergraduate degree.

During a mission on Christmas night in 2005, Dr. Johnston lost a teammate when his team made contact with the enemy. After that firefight, he decided he wanted to be more than an SF medic and set his sights on medical school. At age 36, and after 18 years of service, Dr. Johnston applied to medical school. The Quillen College of Medicine accepted his application and welcomed him into the Quillen family. Dr. Johnston is grateful, and truly feels that he left one great team in the military to move into another in the science of medicine at Quillen.

The support and care that the school staff offers to all students and especially to veterans is exemplary. The faculty takes interest in each students story and holds his or her military service in high regard. I have the utmost respect for such a fine program and would encourage any veteran to apply.