Pamela Pfeil, associate director of Military and Veterans Affairs at Stony Brook University, did not initially plan to serve in the military. She had intended to pursue a career in music education, hoping to teach children about music.
Her perspective changed during her junior year of high school after the events of September 11. “I was 16 and already looking at music colleges,” she remembers. “Then 9/11 happened. One of my closest friends lost her dad, a firefighter. It really made me ask, ‘what can I do?’”
At a college fair, Pfeil encountered recruiters from the Army National Guard Band—the 42nd Infantry Division Band—which offered her an opportunity to combine her interest in music with service. “It felt like the perfect fit,” she says. “I could use my talent as a musician and still serve my country.”
With parental consent, she enlisted at age 17 and later deployed to Tikrit, Iraq with the National Guard when she was 19. “I turned 20 there,” she says. “When I came home, I couldn’t even get into a bar — I was still underage. I didn’t feel like I had anything in common with anyone my age. I’d lived a whole different life.”
Adjusting to civilian life proved difficult for Pfeil after returning from deployment due to limited support structures for National Guard members compared to active-duty personnel. She found assistance through Stony Brook University’s community: “I found people who helped me through it,” she says. “That experience is what drives me now — to be that support for others.”
Upon joining Stony Brook’s Office of Veterans Affairs, Pfeil shifted its focus beyond paperwork and benefits management toward fostering belonging among student veterans on campus. “I wanted to create something holistic — not just helping with forms, but helping people find their place,” she says.
During her tenure, Stony Brook University established the Military-Connected Student Lounge—an area providing lockers, study spaces, kitchen facilities, and opportunities for connection among veterans on campus: “Our students have a place now. They have a sense of belonging,” she says. “They can meet other people like them, people who get it.”
Pfeil also contributed to mentorship initiatives such as Vets-for-Vets—which pairs incoming student veterans with peers—and developed liaison programs connecting veterans with staff and faculty across campus: “Our students don’t just have an advisor,” she says. “They have ‘Dan’, they have ‘Pamela.’ They know real people who know them back.”
In addition to these responsibilities, Pfeil serves as interim director of the Stony Brook Marching Band—a group she helped establish after returning from Iraq: “I was one of the founding members of the band after coming back from Iraq,” she says. “Now I get to lead it. Most of our students aren’t music majors — they just love playing. That’s what I love most — seeing that spark.”
Reflecting on her journey through roles as soldier, mentor, musician and university leader, Pfeil emphasizes supporting others during transitions: “For me, it’s about making sure no one has to go through that transition alone,” she says. “If I can help someone find their rhythm again — that’s what it’s all about.”