About Me
I enlisted into the military between my junior and senior year of high school, with my parents signing the waiver to allow me to enlist under 18. I knew from a young age I was going into the military, and watching 9/11 from my classroom only solidified my future right out of high school. Serving in the Marine Corps Infantry, 4 years active duty, deploying in 2007 to Iraq with 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines. After existing active duty I joined Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion 25th Marine Reserves, deploying to Afghanistan in 2010, tasked with being the Regimental Combat Team 2 QRF, later tasked out to 3rd Battation 5th Marines in the Sangin Valley where we operated under their direction for the remaining 6th months of the deployment. I decided to leave the military after returning from Afghanistan and now live near Tampa Florida and am an Estimator/Project Manager in the demolition industry.
“Why would you run 100 miles?”
Combat Veterans to Careers assists veterans and their families with transition assistance when exiting the military. From education, counseling, housing, and employment. They have assisted over 955 veteran families since 2012. They have recently partnered with Take a Knee Foundation, providing ketamine assisted therapy to not only veterans, but first responders, which has shown lasting relief for those suffering from trauma related mental health conditions. This can be a lifeline when nothing else has worked.
As a combat veteran who has made this transition myself, I am highly aware of the struggles and stigmas that surround mental health, as well as the benefits of this therapy. As a current construction professional, I see an industry that also carries the stigmas around discussing and dealing with mental health. Construction workers face suicide rates far above the national average. The more we talk about it and the more we explore what can actually work, the more lives we can save.
The second beneficiary being Gamerosity. They are a crowdfunding and apparel sales platform built to empower communities to advocate in meaningful ways for children battling cancer. They do this by sending carefully curated backpacks called Hero Packages to kids going through the rough days of cancer treatments. The backpacks are filled with iPads, books, hats, and clothing. Things that let them break away from the tough days. They can just play games and be a kid. I cannot imagine what it is like to have to battle cancer as a child, or to be a parent with a child battling cancer. The fear, anxiety, all the unknowns. The long, painful days and nights in a hospital, unable just to go outside and play with your friends and be a kid. The
emotional roller coaster parents go through.
What I can imagine is doing something to help. I can simply put some shoes on and go on a run. I can imagine asking people to come along on this journey with me. Together, we can bring relief to the combat veterans and first responders that do a job that most will never understand or comprehend the trauma that comes with it. That isn’t written in the job description. And for the children fighting a battle they didn’t volunteer or ask for. So, when I get asked why… My answer is simple. For Them.
