Tell us about your military service. What did you do? Where did you serve? What do you value the most about your military service?
I enlisted in 2004 and immediately started the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) after basic training and airborne school. I graduated the SFQC in 2006 as a Special Forces Communication Sergeant and was assigned to 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Fort Campbell, KY where I stayed until I retired in 2024 minus a three-year tour at John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. During that time, I had five combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria and four non-combat deployments to Jordan, Kuwait, Tanzania, and Lebanon. I became a Special Force Warrant Officer in 2017 and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer Three in December 2024. The most rewarding part of my military service was the cultural immersion I had living and fighting alongside Iraqi Special Forces, Kuwaiti Commandos, Lebanese Rangers, Afghani Army Soldiers, Syrian militias, and the Tanzanian People’s Defense Forces. Being a part of a small team and relying on your partner force for survival taught me how to bridge the largest cultural divides and understand other cultures in ways that could not be replicated anywhere else.
What are your thoughts on mentoring other students while at Vanderbilt? As a role model, what values do you want to share?
Vanderbilt has some of the brightest students coming from across the country and the world. The idea of mentoring these students is intimidating but exciting because learning can happen in both directions. Many of the values I would like to share with my fellow students are already encouraged in the Vanderbilt community, but I can provide real-world examples on how those values could be tested throughout life. I can also help other students understand the world through a distinct perspective that can only be related through personal interaction and relating at the human level. This can help students relate to people different from themselves and understand the military community they may not have interacted with before.
While at Vanderbilt, what will be the focus of your studies and how do you plan to use this knowledge in your future career?
I am studying to be a Clinical Mental Health Counselor at Peabody College with the goal of becoming Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with Mental Health Service Provider designation (MHSP) after obtaining enough experience to meet licensure requirements. This is a long process but once complete, I plan to help veterans and vulnerable populations have access to quality mental health care while providing a more client-centered approach to treatment. I have witnessed soldiers’ lives implode after decades of deploying to combat zones and not receiving mental health support. I hope, in a small way, to provide an avenue for these soldiers to get help and prevent the toll untreated mental health issues have on individuals, families, and society.
What would you tell other veterans about the Bass Military Scholars Program?
The Bass Military Scholars Program is an opportunity to help future generations of soldiers and veterans by providing students at Vanderbilt University with an opportunity to engage with veterans and learn from their experiences. This integration can leave a lasting impression on these young adults by giving them a frame of reference of veterans/soldiers in their future endeavors. This may seem small but to the students it can change their entire perspective of the military and US foreign policy to the benefit of future soldiers.