The 2025 Student Veteran of the Year was awarded to law student Christopher Smith at the yearly Veterans Day Commemoration event on Nov. 14.

As a member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, Smith served six years, both active duty and Reserves, as an 11 B airborne infantryman in a light infantry platoon, earning the rank of sergeant (E-5). In 2020, he deployed to Baghdad as a squad leader following the U.S. strike that killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani.

His leadership qualities can be seen in other aspects at the University of Utah, where he majored in economics and is now a third-year law student at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. As a volunteer at the Pro Bono Initiative’s free legal clinic for veterans, assuming the student director role, Smith met Teresa Robison, a practicing paralegal and fellow veteran who soon was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Smith is working with the university to raise funds for an endowed scholarship in her name to support veterans pursuing legal degrees, ensuring Teresa Robison’s legacy and impact at the university will continue. She died on Aug. 12.

His scholarship extends beyond the classroom. He authored a paper analyzing the balance between the President’s commander-in-chief powers and Congress’s authority to declare war in the context of the Soleimani drone strike, describing it as “a chilling warning of how quickly drone technology can alter international relations in deadly ways.”

The piece was published in Utah Law Review’s Fall 2025 edition focused on constitutional law. He has been the Executive Footnote Editor for the Utah Law Review, a teaching assistant for three law school courses and completed an externship with Justice Diana Hagen of the Utah Supreme Court.

Smith believes that the military completely changed the trajectory of his life and taught him that he can make a positive impact in the lives of people around him.