What makes you a Difference Maker?

This is a very complex question. I will answer it as simply as possible. I care. A Difference Maker is a person who goes the extra mile. Working in the Veteran’s Office on campus and being a student, I’ve ran into or heard of most of the pitfalls that people find themselves in; I try to help everyone I can avoid these and plan for success. Even though I’m an official UM-Dearborn tutor, I’ll still help anyone who needs it wherever I can. It isn’t some great singular thing that I do, it’s just who I am.

Highlight your campus achievements:

I’m currently enrolled in my second year here at UM-Dearborn. I received University Honors for the 2016 winter and fall semester period, which were the first-time periods that I was eligible for these honors. I’m the treasurer for the Student Veteran Association, and I actively work with multiple different organizations including fraternities and other campus organizations to help the community. My office brought a renowned actor and author, Benjamin Busch, to campus to hold a seminar about transitioning from active service to civilian life. Most recently, we cosponsored The Alliance for DisAbility Awareness ConnectUs benefit dinner.

Highlight your leadership experiences both on and off campus:

As a Navy Veteran with over thirteen years of service, I spent the better part of a decade teaching people what I know. I’ve continued this in my civilian life. I trained three different individuals in the year that I worked for Bridgestone of America. Once arriving at UM-Dearborn, I started helping other veterans and classmates with the classes I was in and classes I’d taken. This lead to my becoming a tutor for the university through the Student Success Center. I have tutored a myriad of classes ranging from calculus and engineering to physics and anthropology.

What is your dream career and/or long term life goal?

My dream career is still unclear. I don’t know where I want to work or what I want to do. As far as my long term goals, I want to teach. I’ve always wanted to help anyone I can. Teaching at the university level requires that you have experience in the real world. This is all a part of a greater philosophy of leaving where you are better than you found it. My life may still lead me to new and interesting places, but as long as I can make changes to my surroundings for the better, then it will have been a successful life.

What was your most defining moment at UM-Dearborn?

I wouldn’t classify any of the moments here at UM-Dearborn as a defining one. Everything I do in life defines who I am; at the same time, everything I do in life is because of who I am. The most significant of these would probably be my tutoring. There’s nothing more satisfying than to see the look on a person’s face when they finally grasp a tricky concept. I get no greater joy than hearing about a student you helped that did well. So, I guess my most defining moment is the collaboration of all of the tutoring moments as a whole.