2014 Tillman Scholar

Diana Kramer

Air Force
Arizona State University
B.S., Psychology

“I want to do more to bring healing to my fellow service members and their families.”

In the spring of 2002, Diana Kramer dropped a proverbial bomb on her parents when she told them she planned on becoming an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician in the United States Air Force. Diana graduated from the difficult Naval School, Explosive Ordnance Disposal in 2003 and had since deployed five times, twice each to Iraq and Afghanistan where she and her team were responsible for disarming the enemy’s weapon of choice, Improvised Explosive Devices.

When Diana returned from her last tour in Afghanistan she suffered from depression and displayed symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress. She was brave enough to seek help from both military and civilian counselors, some were helpful and some were not. In 2013, Diana traveled to Laos on a mission to recover the remains of military members missing in action from past conflicts. It was during this mission that Diana realized she wanted to do more to bring healing to her fellow service members and their families. She enrolled in Arizona State University’s online degree program in order to pursue her bachelors in Psychology, with the eventual goal of obtaining a Ph.D. and counseling veterans.