SAFE HAVEN

When the devastating flood hit Eastern Kentucky last summer, junior Emily Stacy and her family lost their house and most of their belongings just a few days before she was due to begin her third semester of nursing classes.

“I live with my grandparents, and they’ve always pushed me to go chase my dreams and do whatever I need to do to get my education. They were very supportive in the fact that I was going to go back to school, and that they were fine. They’d have it under control,” Stacy said.

“But it was just the thought of, ‘How am I going to go back to school if I don’t have any of the things that I need?’ I didn’t have any bedding, I didn’t really have any clothes... my computer, stethoscope, scrubs... I didn’t have anything. It’s stressful enough coming into a new semester, trying to get your routine down, get everything into place, get moved in so you know where everything is. I didn’t have anything; everything was just gone. It was like a clean slate.”

Two days after the flood, Stacy received text messages from EKU about the SAFE program. If any students were affected by the flooding in Eastern Kentucky, the messages said to respond so EKU could help them return to campus.

The SAFE program allowed Stacy to come back to school and get all of the supplies she needed for her classes, residence hall and basic necessities. The fund also helped provide her family with basic supplies while they started the process of rebuilding their home.

“The support was coming from all over the place. I didn’t even know it at the time. When I was at home, I didn’t know what they were all doing here to help me. It was kind of overwhelming all the support that I had,” Stacy said.

“I got back to my normal life. I wasn’t in such a tough position to where I would need to work all throughout the semester. I had some free time, got to work on my grades, got my grades up and really just got involved on campus. I feel like it allowed me to have some freedom, some happiness.”

– Nathan Neal (OPPOSITE)

Stacy is due to graduate in Spring of 2024, and she plans on staying in Kentucky to give back to the community that gave so much to her during a time of trial and tribulation.

“I’m really passionate about healthcare, specifically healthcare in Eastern Kentucky. That’s an area that needs people to be passionate about it the most, and it’s the community that gave so much to me during the flooding,” she said.

Recognizing the vast impact the SAFE program had in her life, Stacy advocates for the fund and shared her story with legislators and Foundation Board members. “It was a terrible situation, but I’ve met a lot of great people, and I’ve found out there are so many people in my corner that I didn’t even know until the flood happened,” she said.

SAFE also helps students during other disasters and unexpected emergencies, like the tornadoes that devastated parts of Western Kentucky in December 2021.

Sophomore Nathan Neal’s family home suffered immense damage after a tornado touched down in his neighborhood and tore through his street.

Neal, an engineering technology management major, was unable to work due to his home’s damage from the tornado. Through the SAFE program, Neal was able to come back to campus and have the funds he needed to stay comfortable throughout the semester.

“I got back to my normal life. I wasn’t in such a tough position to where I would need to work all throughout the semester. I had some free time, got to work on my grades, got my grades up and really just got involved on campus. I feel like it allowed me to have some freedom, some happiness,” Neal said.

Thanks to the generosity of Colonels from around the Commonwealth and country, students who are faced with challenging times are able to stay and receive their education due to the SAFE program. SAFE prioritizes students’ needs to meet them where they are and ease the burden of immediate, essential expenses in the wake of crises.

“Sometimes our students experience unimaginable circumstances that would otherwise derail their dream of a college degree. The SAFE program provides just-in-time support for students to keep their dream alive,” said Dr. Lara Vance, dean of students. n

The Student Assistance Fund for Eastern (SAFE) provides short-term financial help to students who are unable to meet immediate, essential expenses in the wake of crises like the Eastern Kentucky flooding in 2022. SAFE eases the financial burden facing the Colonel family by covering expenses like housing, food, utilities, internet, transportation and medication. Colonels like you made 192 gifts totaling over $38,000 to assist students impacted by the flooding in Eastern Kentucky. Thank

Faith Family Friends Freedom

Akron, Ohio native, Gen. James E. Rainey, ’87, came to EKU on a swimming scholarship—a decision he claims formed the launchpad for his successful career in the United States Army and marriage of 35 years with his wife, Tracy, ’89.

“It all started here,” Rainey says about his time at EKU. “It’s where I fell in love with my wife and fell in love with the Army.” The swimming scholarship enabled him to attend college, then he quickly found his niche in Army ROTC.

“I always knew I wanted to be in the Army, but my first exposure was when I joined ROTC,” Rainey said. “It’s where my passions meshed with what I need to be able to do, which is to serve and give back for all the blessings and opportunities we have living in this great country.”

Commissioned in 1987 as an infantry officer from EKU, Rainey now serves as commander of the Army Futures Command—the newest organization in the Army, set up in 2018. He began the position in October 2022, when he earned the promotion of four-star ranking, becoming one of only 241 four-star generals of the U.S. Army dating back to 1866 and the only known EKU alumnus to achieve this distinction.

“I’ve been blessed to lead some phenomenal organizations,” Rainey said of his Army career, amassing over 35 years of continuous service. He held several leadership roles in the Army, including deputy chief of staff of the G-3/5/7 at the

Pentagon and commanding general of the United States Army Combined Arms Center. He commanded the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, a unit deployed to Iraq during the war, and the 3rd Infantry Division, “one of our great units that I had the privilege of leading,” he noted. He also previously oversaw the total education system of the U.S. Army.

In his current position with the Army Futures Command, he’s responsible for designing the Army of the future. Lighting a fire in Rainey, he says, is the fact that they’re focused on preparing the Army for 2040, which is the year his grandson will turn 18.

“Every day I wake up thinking about that, and I go to bed every night feeling like I did something that matters,” Rainey said.

From Northern Kentucky, his wife, Tracy, came to EKU as the first female in her family to graduate junior high and high school and pursue a college degree. While at EKU, she joined the Chi Omega sorority, an experience she says provided her with support throughout college and prepared her for life as a military spouse.

“Being an Army spouse is like being in a sorority with volunteering and leadership and helping other people,” Tracy said. Despite 24 moves in their 35 years of marriage, Tracy works as an occupational therapist, volunteers among the military community and has raised their two daughters.

While in Georgia, she lobbied for legislation regarding professional certification for military spouses, named the Tracy Rainey Act in her honor. When her husband worked with the military education system, she advocated for and made notable progress in spousal education credentialing. Next on her agenda includes increasing suicide awareness among military families and children.

Tracy humbly says she never forgets where she came from, and the Rainey’s make it a priority to come back and visit EKU’s campus, most recently in November for Military Appreciation Day.

“We are exceptionally proud to have an EKU graduate serving our country as one of the top-ranking officials of the U.S. Army,” said EKU President David McFaddin. “Gen. Rainey proves testament to EKU’s exceptional reputation in military and veteran education and to our mantra as the School of Opportunity. With passion, dedication and perseverance, EKU alumni can change the world.”

In recognition of Gen. Rainey’s distinguished service to the public, he will be presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws (L.L.D.) degree at EKU’s spring commencement ceremony in May.

Reflecting on his personal formula to success—faith, family, friends and freedom—Rainey said, “Nobody achieves success in life, and definitely not in the Army, on their own. It’s all about the other people. It’s very humbling when I think about those great people here [at EKU] then all throughout my career, and most importantly, the soldiers that I was lucky enough to lead, and the sacrifice of my family.” n