Soldier, Mother, and Now a UNO Grad: Blanca Brownmiller’s Story of Persistence

Walking across the stage at commencement is momentous for each and every student. For Blanca Brownmiller, it’s a moment that is 10 years in the making.

“I was doing my graduation pictures, and it hit me. I was like, wow, I'm going to finish.”

There were times when Brownmiller was tempted to give up on her goal of getting her college degree.

“All the time,” she says, emotionally. “I remember sitting there one time just thinking ‘how am I doing this?’”

After high school, Brownmiller wasn’t yet a U.S. citizen and was only eligible for limited amounts of scholarships to help get through college. Nonetheless, she began her education in her home state, at the University of Iowa.

“I had three jobs. I lived at home, helping my mom with my four siblings. So, it was just a lot,” she said.

After her first year at Iowa, Brownmiller joined the Iowa Army National Guard. Not only did it fulfill her calling to serve the country that provided her family the opportunity to build a better future, but she knew it was a financial pathway to her degree.

So, for the next two years, she worked full time with the Iowa Guard while slowly chipping away at her education. During that time, she also worked toward, and received, her U.S. citizenship.

The story was the same when she then transferred to the North Carolina National Guard: taking some courses while working full time.

“Doing some credits here, doing some credits there. I wasn't really 100% in.”

In 2019, she had to put her education on hold completely when she was deployed to Kuwait.

“It was a little over a year,” she says. “It got extended due to COVID.”

When she returned to the U.S. in 2020 from deployment, Brownmiller transferred back to the Iowa Guard and then welcomed her baby girl with her fiancé in July of 2022. The motivation to continue her education and finish her degree was stronger than ever.

Just a month after giving birth, Brownmiller was back in the classroom. She was now managing full-time school, being a mom, and working with the Iowa Guard all at once. It was a bumpy road at times.

“Balancing everything was a lot, and I guess it came back down to, like, taking it one day at a time. That kind of helped me push forward.”

When her fiancé, also an Iowa Army National Guard member, got a job in Council Bluffs in 2024, she transferred to the Nebraska Army National Guard.

“Once we moved to Omaha, I had that conversation with my fiancé, I was like, I want to do this. If I'm going to do this, I need to do this now,” Brownmiller said about finally finishing her education.

It was then that she reached out to UNO’s Military-Connected Resource Center (MCRC).

“I told [my advisor], I said, ‘I need to finish this degree. Whatever gets me out the fastest, I want to do that," Brownmiller says.

The MCRC staff has helped her do exactly that, she adds.

“I've always been into science, into some type of health and kinesiology. My focus has always been either in chemistry, biochemistry, something within the science world.”

Based on her past education, those in the MCRC were able to point her in the direction of a multidisciplinary degree with an emphasis in general science.

“They helped me set up my joint service transcript, because my credit is from the military side. [UNO] was able to compile those trainings and transfer them to credits here.”

Up until her final semester, Brownmiller continued to work full time with the Nebraska Guard while finishing her education at UNO, knowing that MCRC staff was there to answer any questions about her service or her schoolwork at any time.

“They've helped me out a lot,” Brownmiller says. “The financial aid office has helped out, too, because I’m always asking about my bill. So, the university is very military friendly.”

Throughout the years, Brownmiller has worked with many different advisors and counselors as she has moved toward her degree. At UNO, she says she knew immediately that she was getting the university support she had been missing.

“Counselors don't have to care,” she says. “And here, it felt different. Like, [my advisor] was actually willing to sit down and have a conversation, or I'll walk in and just talk to him where it was more one-on-one. Other universities, it wasn't like that.”

Like every student, there were days when Brownmiller struggled with motivation to get to class. She says MCRC staff were always keeping her accountable and on track.

“So, I think having that good support system outside of just family, but also in school,” she says. “That's kind of what pushed me through.”

The military office was also an extra support system when her fiancé was deployed in the fall of 2025.

There’s no question that Brownmiller would have ended up getting her degree one way or another, no matter the difficulties, roadblocks, or other commitments she faced. But she says that UNO eased the burden, making it possible for her to dedicate herself to her schoolwork, military service, and family life all at once.

“That's been my biggest takeaway, not being afraid to ask for help,” she says of her time with UNO.

After graduation, Brownmiller will begin Officer Candidate School with the Nebraska Army National Guard, working to transition from being an enlisted soldier to becoming an effective leader, leading anywhere from 30 to 230 soldiers at once.

Officer Candidate School requires soldiers to have at least 90 credits or a bachelor's degree by the end of the year-long training; something Brownmiller can now finally and proudly cross off her checklist.

After more than a decade of working toward her goal, Brownmiller says there’s one thing that sticks out above the rest that she will carry forward into this next chapter of her story.

“Being persistent and not quitting.”