ASU student honors her grandfather’s legacy through storytelling
W. P. Carey School of Business student Kayla Burns with her grandfather George Burns, now 85, who served in the U.S. Navy for 21 years. Courtesy photo
Editor's note: ASU is celebrating Salute to Service Nov. 7–16, which honors individuals and their families who put service above self in both their professional and personal lives.
This fall at Arizona State University's West Valley campus, a new communication course is teaching students that storytelling can do more than inform — it can preserve history, strengthen family bonds and give veterans a lasting voice.
COM 294 – Living History: Communicating Veteran Stories, taught by Instructor Trinity Winton in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, launched in partnership with Imprints of Honor, a nonprofit dedicated to documenting veterans’ lived experiences.
As part of the course, students interview a veteran, write and publish their story in an online volume and have the story archived in the Library of Congress — turning classroom work into permanent records of American history.
For W. P. Carey School of Business student Kayla Burns, the assignment became deeply personal.
“This class is very important to me because the military has been such a big part of my family’s history,” Burns said. “Telling my grandfather’s story has changed my life;it brought us closer and helped me understand his service in a way I never had before.”
Kayla’s grandfather, George Burns, now 85, served in the U.S. Navy for 21 years and worked on navigational and optical equipment, including binoculars, periscopes and the instruments that kept ships running.Through the interview process, Kayla discovered how the discipline and exacting standards of naval life shaped him.
“Everything had to be clean, neat and precise,” she said. “Even as a kid at his house, everything had a place. I always thought grandpa was just strict, but learning about the rules and procedures he followed in the optical room made me understand why he was that way.”
Those technical details revealed character traits other family stories had never explained: lifelong attention to detail, a drive to set and meet goals, and a belief that steady effort and skill matter. Kayla says the process also made room for surprising tenderness.
“He came alive when we talked about the technical stuff,” she said. “Seeing him remember and explain those details, you could tell it meant a lot to him. I think there was real healing in that.”
Winton created the course to pair civic engagement with empathy-driven communication. Winton, whose husband is an Air Force veteran, sees the project as a way to preserve the complexity of veterans’ lives: the pride, the routines and the deep reflections that often follow service.
“There’s so much civilians don’t know about what military life is like — the beautiful, the challenging and the heartbreaking,” Winton said. “If we lose those voices, we lose their lessons. This class gives students the opportunity to preserve those stories for future generations.”
Beyond developing interviewing and writing skills, the course cultivates civic literacy, compassion and a sense of shared responsibility. Veterans receive the validation that their service and memories matter; students learn the ethics and craft of listening well.
Kayla describes how the project deepened family conversations. Her father joined her for the interview sessions, and the family has since talked openly about military life in ways they hadn’t before.
“Preserving his story has really strengthened our bonds,” Burns said. “We’re embracing that history more; it’s deepening my connection to my grandfather.”
Not all memories were easy to access. Kayla found that some topics were off-limits; but the moments of vulnerability that did surface were powerful, particularly when George reflected on the bitter reception many Vietnam-era veterans faced after returning home.
Kayla also hopes readers will notice the often-overlooked roles in military history. Her grandfather’s work in the optical room, the hands-on maintenance and precision, may not make headlines, but it kept crews and ships safe and effective.
“I want people to remember the value of the ‘little guys’ who keep the whole machine running,” she said. “Without every cog, the machine won’t work.”
COM 294’s partnership with Imprints of Honor and the Library of Congress ensures these narratives reach beyond the classroom. Student interviews become part of a national archive, accessible to researchers, family members and future generations seeking to understand the everyday realities of service.
“Humans are storytelling creatures,” Winton said. “It’s our duty to listen, learn and make sure these memories are never lost.”
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