Alumni Journey: Marine, Student, Chaplain and Foreign Service

From military to chaplaincy, next steps for Brandon Evans '18 appear to be Chicago followed by a United States embassy.

Evans was recently awarded a fellowship by the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Programby the U.S. Department of State.The fellowship will help pay for him to earn a master's degree in public policy at the University of Chicago.

It has been an interesting journey for Evans, who grew up in Henderson, North Carolina. His father, who used to run a barbecue restaurant, had served in the Marine Corps and Evans decided to enlist too.

Concurrently, he became interested in ministry and preached his first sermon at Welcome Chapel Ministry Baptist church a couple of months before he left in July 2011 for basic training in Paris Island, South Carolina.

He served mostly in Cherry Point, North Carolina, as an administrative specialist for the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 366, although he was also deployed to the Persian Gulf for nine months on the USS San Antonio. On board, he soon met the ship's chaplain.

"He was a good support for me while I was deployed overseas," Evans said. "That's how my eyes became open to other avenues of ministry."

Evans was honorably discharged in 2015 from the Marines. Initially he considered the idea of joining the highway patrol but then decided to enroll at North Carolina Central University(NCCU) on the Post-911 GI Bill.

"I grew up going to NCCU homecoming and going to the parade with my family," Evans said. "When I was getting out of the military, I wanted to go somewhere that was nurturing. I thought going to a HBCU would be like that."

While at NCCU he marched in the Sound Machine for two years and later served in the student government association, where he led the student judicial board. He also connected to the then pastor of the NCCU Office of Spiritual Development and Dialogue, who suggested Evans consider divinity school.

Evans completed a bachelor's degree in political science in August 2018 and then moved to Nashville, Tennessee to enroll in the divinity school at Vanderbilt University in Fall 2019.

Becoming a Chaplain

As part of his degree program, he served as a chaplain at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a level one trauma hospital.

"There were motor vehicle accidents, gunshot wounds, falls, construction accidents, anything that caused trauma," Evans said. "I was there to support the families and be a comforting presence to people in acute emotional distress."

It was challenging. Evans recalls a young man about his age who was in a motor vehicle accident. The doctors said there was nothing more they could do to keep him alive.

"His mother stood up in tears and said, 'you tell me why God is doing this?'" Evans said. "Having that type of dialogue with a grieving mother is difficult - there are no words."

In fall 2022, he began a chaplaincy residency at Nashville Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital.

Though not a trauma center, the VA hospital had its own challenges.

"I was 29 to 30 years old," Evans said. "A lot of the clients are Vietnam era veterans. People are like, who is this young fellow trying to take care of me? You have to build trust with the patients."

Evans, who was raised a Baptist, worked with people of various faiths or no faith.

"Working with a diverse group of faiths is what I cherish most about being a chaplain," Evans said. "That is where I lean in as a chaplain, to make that emotional connection. Someone who doesn't have a faith can grieve as well."

Evans suggests that many people have a mistaken belief about the role of a chaplain.

"People think we pray, read scripture and evangelize," Evans said. "We do not do just that. We offer counsel and create space for people to process their grief or other emotional experience."

For the last year, Evans has served as a chaplain in the Durham VA Health Care System, where he assists clients with psychosocial and substance abuse challenges.

What's Next

Evans is one of 45 Pickering Fellows chosen from more than 1,500 applicants. Besides paying toward his master's degree in public policy, the fellowship includes a 10-week internship at the U.S. State Department and an international internship at a U.S. embassy. In return, Evans agrees to serve in the U.S. Foreign Service for at least five years.

Though embassies do not employ chaplains, Evans aims to become a consular officer, assisting American citizens abroad.

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