3L Named Tillman Scholar

Tyler Adams, a U.S. Army veteran and third-year student at the University of Virginia School of Law, has been named a 2023 Tillman Scholar.

The Pat Tillman Foundation says its scholarship recipients are military service members, veterans and spouses with “a high potential for impact as demonstrated through a proven track record of leadership, the continued pursuit of education and the commitment of their resources to service beyond self.” The newly selected class will receive funding to pursue higher education and continue their service in the fields of health care, business, law, public service, STEM, education and the humanities.

Adams, born into a family with a long tradition of military service, was commissioned as a Medical Service Corps officer in the U.S. Army in 2016. He served in a combat support hospital at Fort Carson, Colorado, then deployed to Afghanistan as the executive officer of a forward surgical team. His mission was to provide medical care for battlefield casualties so the wounded could be transported to hospitals for further treatment. For his final year in 2021, he served as chief of patient administration at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.

Adams receives a Bronze Star for his efforts in Afghanistan. Courtesy photo

“I had always been patriotic and called to do something impactful in service to others and had considered the military for a long time growing up,” Adams said. “I realized after I finished my undergraduate with a focus on pre-law that I had reached a fork in the road and if I proceeded to law school at that time, I was unlikely to ever fulfill my goal of serving in the Army.”

Adams said he was drawn to law school because he had always been curious and inspired by the law as a means of effecting practical positive change. Describing himself as a bridge-builder who wants to expand his perspectives, he said UVA was the best fit.

“After years in the military and learning that your environment and having a solid team around is what is most critical to your success, I knew UVA was the only place I wanted to be,” Adams said. “My goal is to support and encourage the people around me, and I simply cannot imagine having gone to school with anyone other than my colleagues here at UVA.”

At UVA Law, the Jonesboro, Arkansas, native is a Community Fellow, co-president of Lone Star Lawyers and a Law Ambassador. He has worked on pro bono projects providing legal assistance with veterans’ disability claims and appeals, and helping former Afghan partners gain humanitarian parole to rescue their families from the Taliban.

Adams earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Arkansas State University, where he joined the Army ROTC program, and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and sociology from the University of Arkansas.

After graduation, he will work at Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing in Houston and explore opportunities to serve his community in Arkansas through public policy or political engagement.

He is the fourth UVA Law student to receive the Tillman Scholarship, after Brian Wotring ’13, Sam Long ’22 and Aleja Rocha LL.M. ’22.

The Pat Tillman Foundation was created by family and friends of Pat Tillman, an NFL player who enlisted in the Army after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and was killed in Afghanistan in 2004.