It has been estimated that in the wake the United States’ continued involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the student-veteran population of universities and colleges throughout the country could increase by as much as 25 in the next year as returning veterans use a post-9/11 G.I. Bill to fund their higher education aspirations.

But as returning veteran and University of Nevada, Reno senior Business major Stuart Greenfield notes, sometimes the G.I. Bill isn’t enough. Greenfield is part of a group of veterans to found the campus organization, Wolf Pack Veterans, which in its short history has provided more than $6,000 to veterans who haven’t been able to afford school beyond the benefits of the G.I. Bill.

“The G.I. Bill is a really great incentive for veterans to return to school, but some veterans, due to medical bills, economic conditions and the increasing cost of college, might need additional aid,” said Greenfield, a former Marine who served in Iraq.

To that end, the group’s “Fallen Wolf Scholarship” program will award $3,700 in scholarship money for the spring semester on Thursday, Jan. 28 in Room 423 of the Joe Crowley Student Union.

The scholarship program is available to all veterans at the University, as well as family members, who, due to combat, have lost a family member in combat since Sept. 11, 2001. This semester, $1,000 was awarded to an incoming freshman in honor of his father, who was killed in Iraq.

Greenfield said Wolf Pack Veterans strives to “provide a supportive environment for returning veterans in order to facilitate their education and transition from military service.” Wolf Pack Veterans, a student-run organization, was founded at the University in 2006.