For Chaz Roberts, the path to higher education was anything but traditional. A veteran, Southern Nazarene University (SNU) Bachelor of Science in Family Studies and Gerontology graduate, and current SNU master’s student at SNU, Roberts understands the challenges of navigating life transitions firsthand. Now studying for his Master’s of Science in Counseling Psychology on SNU’s Bethany campus, he is pursuing a career that will allow him to help others, especially those facing difficult life adjustments, find direction and purpose.
Roberts’ path to higher education didn’t follow a traditional route. As a teenager, he chose to enlist in the military, hoping to gain life experience and direction. His years of service would ultimately shape both his worldview and future goals.
“I was a high school dropout, joined the military to ‘experience life.’ A couple TBIs later, that was enough experiencing that life for me,” he said. “I got out to pursue a hopefully more injury-free academic journey and help people at the end of it.”
Before and after his military service, Roberts held a variety of roles that helped shape his work ethic and perspective. He worked at a golf course as a teenager, later spent time at Walmart, served in the U.S. Army on active duty and in the reserves, and eventually worked as a security liaison.
Like many veterans, Roberts faced challenges when transitioning from military life to civilian routines.
“I had a very tough time adjusting to the civilian way of life that took years to feel like I had a sense of direction, and I want to be in a position to help others identify the direction they want to go.”
This experience helped shape his academic and professional goals. Rather than seeing those years as a setback, Roberts began to see them as preparation for a future career supporting others navigating similar situations and challenges.
Roberts’ connection to SNU came through family. His mother had previously completed the university’s Family Studies and Gerontology (FSG) program and encouraged him to take the same path.
“My mother completed the FSG program and recommended the university to me,” he explained.
Roberts graduated from the program in May of 2025, building the academic foundation needed to pursue his long-term goal of becoming a licensed professional counselor and helping others.
During his time at SNU, Roberts found the supportive faculty to be one of the university’s strongest assets.
“I would say that professors [set SNU apart] honestly. At [my community college] I was pretty lucky to have good professors as well,” he said. “But when I hear the horror stories about other universities’ professors… requiring the student to self-teach themselves, I would say the professors’ experience at SNU is what really sets it apart.”
Supportive faculty and engaging coursework helped reinforce his decision to continue his education at SNU.
For Roberts, earning his bachelor’s degree was always part of the larger plan to pursue licensure as a counselor.
“My bachelor’s was primarily a stepping stone to completing a master’s program to be able to get my LPC, as that’s my primary goal,” he explained. “Seeing as how the bachelor’s degree and the course content are required to get into the master’s program, it is technically playing a key role in academic and eventually professional success.”
Today, Roberts is continuing that journey as a student in SNU’s Master of Science in Counseling Psychology (MSCP) program, where he is preparing for a future career helping individuals work through challenges and find direction in their own lives.
Reflecting on his time at SNU so far, Roberts describes his experience as overwhelmingly positive.
“ My experience at SNU has been 99% positive, and I have…[and] will continue to recommend SNU as a school to anyone I hear considering going to college.”
With his unique life experiences, military background, and growing academic training, Chaz Roberts is well on his way to turning those experiences into meaningful support for others.