Saint Paul, Minn. - In May 2014, Hamline University celebrated the achievements of their students in the areas of English, Journalism and Communications. Veteran Don Allen, a student at Hamline University and the president of the Hamline University Veterans Affairs Student Organization has been awarded two prestigious awards as a result of his written work.

The first award is the Earl E. Craven Prize in Journalism award for a student who is a staff member of a campus publication who has raised the standards of campus journalism. The second award to Allen was the Eliza A. Drew Prize in Communications for Best Editorial, "Hoodlum Manifesto of the Achievement Gap," which was Allen's take on the current fail in public education for K-12 students.

Both awards began in 1913, this is the first time in more than 25 years a Veteran has won both awards. #8203;

Allen, who was accepted to the HU's School of Education in September 2013 to pursue a Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) said, "This is a great honor and I am humbled to receive these awards from Hamline. I also must thank great advisers like Chasen Crowsen in the VA's Vocational Rehabilitation for her continued support. Veterans in education need the support of great VA people to continue the military tradition of leadership and responsibility in education."

Not only is Allen the president of the Hamline University Veterans Affairs Student Organization, he is also the senior columnist for The Oracle, Hamline's student newspaper. In 2014 he was elected as the 2014-2015 senior student representative for Hamline University.

"I get the opportunity to address many issues including those that concern Veterans in higher education. I want to not only teach students, but this also gives me an opportunity to become a lecturer for a university making sure cultural competence is applied across the board and issues of the Veteran students are recognized."

Allen will graduate in 2015 with a BA in English and in 2016 with a Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from Hamline University.

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