April 2021 Veteran of the Month: Savanna Turner
Military Service
Serves as a prevention officer with the rank of Ensign in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves. Previously served as an enlisted Marine Science Technician on active duty in the Coast Guard and later the Coast Guard Reserves.
Agriculture Service
Served as an Extension Agent specializing in 4-H youth development at the UF/IFAS Duval County Extension Office. Currently serves as a graduate assistant at the University of Florida's Department of Agricultural Education and Communications.
Biography
Savanna Turner is a Coast Guard Officer and a Ph.D. student at the University of Florida studying agricultural education and specializing in Extension education. After graduating with her bachelor's degree from UF in 2011, Savanna enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard where she served on active duty for five years as a Marine Science Technician. In the Coast Guard she was stationed at Coast Guard units in Connecticut, Louisiana and Georgia. After leaving active duty service in 2016, Savanna transitioned to the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. She is currently stationed at U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Port Canaveral. In July 2020, she became a Commissioned Officer in the Reserves, where she serves as a prevention officer in the marine safety field. She currently has a total of 10 years of military service and intends to retire from the Coast Guard Reserve.
Prior to becoming a Ph.D. student, Savanna was an Extension agent specializing in 4-H youth development. As a student and graduate assistant at the UF Department of Agricultural Education and Communications, she utilizes her experience as a former UF/IFAS agent to help educate and advise her fellow graduate students and teach undergraduates. Savanna’s career goals are to move Extension forward in the areas of food systems and sustainability so that it has the resources needed to provide the general public and consumers with the latest research-based information and innovations.
Savanna serves as president of the UF Collegiate Veterans Society, the organization representing student veterans at the University of Florida. In this capacity she raised donated funds for student veterans and the Gainesville Firefighters Union and is piloting UF’s first peer-to-peer student veteran mentorship program. She was also a top-10 finalist for student veteran of the year through Student Veterans of America. Savanna’s military awards include the Coast Guard Achievement Medal. She was twice awarded the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, was awarded a Letter of Commendation from the Coast Guard Commandant, and was named the Reserve Enlisted Person of the Year while stationed at Marine Safety Unit Savannah.
