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BHC celebrates and honors our military community from campus and across the United States. We thank you to everyone who’s served. Read more about our very own BHC veterans.
BHC employees
Tom Reagan
Thomas (Tom) Reagan is a veteran serving veterans at Black Hawk College.
In 2018, the former Marine became the college’s coordinator for veterans services, working with veterans and military students at both BHC campuses.
Starting in the Marines
Reagan joined the Marines after graduating high school in 1986, drawn to its toughness.
He was in the First Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, served as a Marine Combat Instructor of Water Survival (MCIWS) and fought in the Gulf War.
“The Marines matured me. If I went to college right out of high school, I would not have been a good student,” Reagan said.
College student and police officer
After serving for about five years in the Marines, Reagan had a direction, plan and goals.
He wanted to earn a bachelor’s degree, so he began taking classes at a neighboring community college. Then he was hired as a police officer for the East Moline Police Department.
A few years later, at 28 years old and married with kids, he decided to attend Black Hawk College to study criminal justice while still serving as a police officer. He said his Marine Corps experience led him to take this route later in life.
Reagan finished his associate degree at Black Hawk College then earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in leadership in higher education from Western Illinois University and an executive leadership certificate from the FBI National Academy.
As a police officer, Reagan said he always was an advocate for veterans.
“If we were on a call and a veteran was involved, I would slow down the call a little bit if that veteran was in crisis and made sure I did whatever I could do to support them,” he said.
After 25 years in law enforcement, he retired from the East Moline Police Department as a captain. For his next chapter, his desire to serve veterans seemed like the right fit at Black Hawk College.
Veterans services at BHC
Reagan said Black Hawk College does a fantastic job supporting not only him, but also the student veterans and the veterans in the community.
“We make sure that there’s no added cost if a veteran is using their VA benefits,” he said.
Beyond the classroom, there is the Veterans Resource Center in Building 4 at the Quad-Cities Campus.
“We always have snacks and coffee where they can come in, chill out and get some of that camaraderie with other veterans that may be lacking a little bit,” Reagan said.
Van DeVilder
Van DeVilder grew up in Kewanee, a town known for its boiler-making history, and graduated from Kewanee High School, home of the Boilermakers.
When he joined the Navy and became a boiler technician, his hometown and his passion for fixing things came together.
He was stationed on the U.S.S. Vancouver and spent most of his days working on boilers in the ship’s lower levels, while also transporting Marine members during the Gulf War.
He also gained skills in the engineering department, where he was considered a primary firefighter in the Navy.
Favorite military experiences
Some of his favorite parts about being in the Navy were the lifelong friends he made and the countless opportunities to travel around the world from Australia to the Philippines.
Hong Kong was his favorite.
“Hong Kong was this technological hub and so futuristic. It had big corporations like Sony and felt like the year 3000,” DeVilder said.
Translating Navy skills to civilian life
DeVilder said the military shaped him into who he is today.
As a Navy boiler technician, he gained lifelong skills he later used working in facilities in the hospital industry for 27 years. In 2025, he carried those skills with him to Black Hawk College when he became the assistant facilities superintendent at the Quad-Cities Campus.
DeVilder said his military service made him more motivated and dedicated to pursue his interests as a career.
“I think at that point that’s a switch flipped in me,” he said.
“I have to be the best at everything I do,” DeVilder said. “The Navy’s motto is pride, professionalism and attention to detail.”
BHC students
Cohl White
After graduating from Moline High School in 2018, Cohl White immediately started working for John Deere.
Although White’s income remained steady, the routine left him feeling stuck. He wanted a change of pace, so two years later he enlisted in the Marines.
“I wanted something to give me purpose at the end of the day,” he said.
“Going to work 9 to 5, I felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again. I knew I wanted to travel and attend college at some point.”
Shaped by the Marine Corps
White served from 2020-25. There, he saw what it meant to become a leader, better communicator and relationship-builder.
White traveled to 17 countries, which helped him grow, especially during his time in Mexico.
“Mexico was nice because the people were very welcoming. They were happy that we were Marines and we were there,” White said.
Being a BHC student
In 2026, White returned to the Quad Cities to attend Black Hawk College. As a 26-year-old nontraditional student, he felt more prepared than ever.
He said connecting with Tom Reagan, who helped him build a schedule that aligns with his needs as a veteran and balances full-time work, has helped him study criminal law and navigate his time at Black Hawk College.
While transitioning out of the Marines and serving in the Reserves, he was connected with English professor Galen Leonhardy, a former Marine.
“He knows getting out of the Marine Corps is a hard transition, and I talked to him probably for a couple hours once,” White said.
Writing daily journals in Leonhardy’s Composition I helped him to express himself since leaving the Marines.
“During that time, I feel like I was able to just write about whatever I wanted,” White said.
“If I was upset about something, about like, ‘Oh, the VA didn’t do my appointment,’ or like, ‘I’m getting the itch to go back to the Marine Corps,’ it gave me that freedom to write about it.”
AJ Fleece
When AJ Fleece graduated from West Central High School in Stronghurst, IL, in 2018, he wasn’t quite ready for college, so he enlisted in the Air Force as a security forces member.
He served from Jan. 1, 2019, to April 1, 2024. Stationed everywhere from Montana to Germany, his duties shifted from acting as a security guard to patrolling off base as a cop.
Air Force memories
Among his memories serving in the Air Force, a favorite spot in Montana stood out.
“It was really cool to be able to drive around and go explore,” Fleece said.
“I got to talk to everyone and tell stories while being out there for 14 hours a night without your phone. Those were fun memories.”
Those moments led him to make lifelong friendships. One of the people he met along the way was Steven Gordon, one of his best friends, who passed away while serving with Fleece.
Fleece remains Gordon strong and still remains in contact with his mom.
Transitioning to post-military life
After five years in the service, Fleece said leaving was a big transition.
“I just remember getting out and feeling like they just dropped me off, and I’m just here. I got to know what to do,” Fleece said.
Along the way, Tom Reagan has been a big help to him as he transitions from the military and as a first-generation student. He also was the first in his family to serve in the military.
While serving in the military, Fleece gained a deep connection to veterans. This led him to develop a passion for studying psychology, hoping to help veterans in the future.
“In the end, I want to help people be able to have a good transition out of the military.
“If they need to call somebody just to ask a question, it doesn’t have to be even psychology-related,” Fleece said. “Just someone to be there for them, and that is needed.”
Seth Williams
Seth Williams graduated from Kewanee High School in 2017. He didn’t have a clear career path so he looked to his family’s military background for direction.
Although his father and grandfather served in the Army and his uncle spent 20 years in the Air Force, Williams decided to chart his own course in a different military branch and joined the Navy.
Rewards and challenges in the Nav
Enlisting at 18, he served five years, spending about a year and a half in school and 3.5 years stationed in Washington state aboard the U.S.S. Nevada 733 as an electronics technician – navigation in the submarines.
As he moved into his senior role, he focused on building accessible study guides for radar operations and quartermaster duties.
However, life on the submarine brought challenges, and patrols lasting a couple of months felt isolating.
Despite those hardships, the service offered moments of deep connection.
While at sea, Williams received morale boxes donated by school groups.
Receiving one complete with a handwritten note and a tennis ball became a defining moment for Williams, giving him a clear sense of what his service meant to people back home.
“It was one of those ‘clicking’ moments and what we are to others. What we imagined those people were when we made things like it as a kid ourselves,” he said.
“That was a pretty wholesome emotional moment of realization for me.”
Becoming a BHC student
After serving in the Navy for five years, Williams decided to pursue a higher education primarily with the encouragement of his fiancée, who had previously attended college.
He headed back to his roots in Kewanee to study agricultural business and agricultural production at Black Hawk College East Campus. His fiancée supported him by going back to school, and Tom Reagan’s assistance made it possible.
He encourages other veterans looking to go back to school to make connections and find a place that fits their standards.
“Find the school’s that fit your criteria, find out if they support the G.I. Bill, then go have a conversation with your VA connection,” Williams said.
“They will give them all the information and confidence to make the right decision that they will be looking for,” he added.