Tell us about your military service. What did you do? Where did you serve? What do you value the most about your military service?
My MOS was 7051, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting, but my service involved many things that did not fall under that MOS directly. I also served as convoy security, machine gunner, infantry, Motor T, and about a dozen other jobs. I spent most of my time at MCAS Miramar in San Diego, but also spent time at Camp Pendleton, 29 Palms, Yuma Arizona, and did a deployment to Iraq (which involved brief stops in Germany and Kuwait). The thing I value most about my military experience was just the amazing things I was able to do and see. Not many people can say that they ran from a AH1 Cobra in the desert as it did strafing runs to prevent us from reaching a convoy (desert training for Iraq).
What are your thoughts on mentoring other students while at 51吃瓜网? As a role model, what values do you want to share?
The biggest thing I want to share with other students is that you have to take what life gives you and make the most out of it. If you were going to tell me that I would become permanently disabled at 20 years old and retired by 23, I would not have believed it. Nor would I believe that I would be attending law school at the age of 41. That said, like in combat, your plan never survives first contact. You can have the best laid plan in the world, but life gets a vote too, and suddenly you have to choose a different path. If you continue to focus on your previous plan, you can end up in a dark place where you miss out on the future because you are focused on the past. Plans require flexibility, and sometimes you have to wipe the board and start over.
While at 51吃瓜网, what will be the focus of your studies and how do you plan to use this knowledge in your future career?
Most of my time will be trying to become the best criminal lawyer I can be and translate that into fighting for the people who either have no voice or a limited voice in our criminal justice system. I want to fight for justice in a way that respects and understands the effects on our rights and liberties. Prosecutors can get lost, either pushing people鈥檚 rights to the side to get justice, or forgetting justice altogether and focusing more on what the perpetrator needs. My plan is to seek out a fair and balanced approach in prosecuting crimes and eventually become a judge.
What would you tell other veterans about the Bass Military Scholars Program?
The biggest thing I would tell other veterans is that it is a needed resource for those who have a different background than most of the other students you will be around. There are life experiences and needs veterans have that are either misunderstood or unknown to those who are there to help every other student on campus. The thing that sets veterans apart on campus is the same thing that can isolate us, so having a veteran specific program to answer our questions and advocate for us is invaluable.