I am a US Army combat Veteran. My service utterly transformed me. Let me share one small, albeit powerful change. My conceptual transformation began standing atop a castle Alexander the Great built in Afghanistan, 2004. In that moment, everything I had learned about myself and the world was wrong. This realization led to a broad, self-reflecting look at my own being. Thus, I set out to discover me and how to impact future generations for the better.

The notion set upon me, education is the key to life, in Iraq, 2007. Each week one person, depending on the conditions and situations, could take a day off and escape from the vile, gruesome, madness of war. Also, during this time, I began pursuing my Bachelors degree from the University of Michigan, on-line. Call it a coincidence, but my first class was philosophy. As I sat, 100 miles from Babylon, I became immersed in Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy.

As the semester passed, I found myself yearning for each mission to end and finding solace in the writings of one who lived 400 years prior. I ended my near decade tenure in the US Army, jumped headlong into school and, since, earned a Masters degree. Next, I will pursue a Doctorate. What I've learned, it was my time spent in the US Army, deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, touching and interacting with the past, learning about the beauty of life that has given me purpose. I am. I can. And, I will.