The Illinois Wrestling Alumni Series is a collection of updates on former Illini and the impact they've made since graduating. Today we look at Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan H. Vaughn.

A 1997 graduate of the University of Illinois, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan H. Vaughn has served in the United States Marine Corps for more than 17 years, and is currently serving as an Associate Counsel (Personnel) in the Office of Counsel to the Commandant for the Marine Crops.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio and a graduate of St. Ignatius High School, LtCol Vaughn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois with a concentration in East Asian history and was named All-Big Ten and an Academic All-American for his success in the classroom.

"The caliber and quality of the education I received at the University of Illinois was outstanding and impacted tremendously the path I took in life," said LtCol Vaughn. "As a history major, with a concentration on East Asia, I was exposed to learning and people in a way I had never experienced before. This allowed me to have a better appreciation of life and work moving forward. It helped develop me as a person and inspired me to do more and be more."

On the mat, LtCol Vaughn contributed to three top-15 finishes at NCAA Championships for head coach Mark Johnson, including two ninth-place finishes in 1995 and 1997. Individually, LtCol Vaughn was a four-time NCAA qualifier, four-time Big Ten placer and left Illinois ranked sixth on the program's all-time wins list by getting his hand raised 88 times in four seasons.

"My experiences at the U of I and with the wrestling program had a profound impact on me as a young man and helped mold and shape me into becoming a better person today," LtCol Vaughn said. "From the administrators, professors and coaches to even the support staff, the university and the wrestling program provided me opportunity, experience and life skills that i was able to translate into success.  Without these, I am not confident I would have been able to achieve what I have personally or professionally."  

Transferring his work ethic from the wrestling room to serving his country, LtCol Vaughn was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1999. From there, the former Illini graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from Case Western Reserve and completed Marine Corps Basic for Officers in 2000 where he served the United States in combat, a responsibility he credits Illinois wrestling for helping prepare him for.

"The discipline I learned at the U of I and from the wrestling program set me up for my greatest successes in both my personal and professional life," said LtCol Vaughn. It helped me qualify for the NCAA national championships all four years as well as earn multiple Academic All-American honors.  The appreciation of hard work, of focus and drive, all with a purpose and meaning that I learned at Illinois, also helped me tremendously while I was in law school, in my early days as an attorney, in my pursuit of multiple master degrees, and ultimately in my service to our nation as a marine officer and former commanding officer of nearly 400 other marines."

Before practicing law, LtCol Vaughn served in tactical combat and combat service support units, operational sub-unified combatant command and service component units and in strategic service and department headquarters units. Using his undergrad studies background, LtCol Vaughn has also commanded more than 400 marine security guards protecting U.S. personnel and classified material at United States embassies and consulates across East Asia and the pacific.

Now a combat wounded lieutenant colonel, LtCol Vaughn has gone on to serve the Marine Corps as an attorney in multiple avenues, practicing law in the areas of criminal, environmental, operational, and installation law among others.

Continuing to take pride in being a graduate of the University of Illinois and former Illini wrestler, LtCol Jonathan Vaughn says his Illini pride continues to flow through him and his family despite being married to a graduate of Penn State.

"I take great pride in my time at the University of Illinois and the wrestling program!" exclaims LtCol Vaughn.  "The camaraderie and friendship I had then was a unifying experience.  To wear the orange and blue and be a member of the varsity "I" is a privilege that I was lucky to experience.  To this day, I wear Illini gear and wear the orange and blue, even in the face of my Nittany Lion wife!  My four daughters also take pride in sharing in my experiences and also wear Illini gear.  As a Big Ten family, we all share in the pride and prestige of the Big Ten conference and the Orange and Blue, though sometimes I have to deal with seeing blue and white throughout my house, and I remain in contact with many of the people we came across."