I stumbled across the Travis Manion Foundation through a VA newsletter that happened to find me at exactly the right time. I read the words, “If Not Me, Then Who…” and immediately felt a connection.
A few months earlier, I had left my career in the medical field to begin graduate school. While working in a psychiatric unit, I made the decision to transfer to my local COVID unit because I wanted to do more during a time that now feels almost unreal to look back on. The experience changed me in ways I didn’t fully recognize, and like many veterans, I handled it the way the Army had taught me to—by pushing through.
Finding TMF changed that.
I was welcomed with open arms and reminded that service doesn’t end when the uniform comes off. At a time when I felt disconnected from the military community, TMF helped me reconnect for all the right reasons. It gave me purpose, community, and hope.
Since then, I’ve earned my master’s degree and a Doctor of Social Work degree specializing in military behavioral health. Today, I have the privilege of serving veterans and first responders while helping them find the same sense of belonging that TMF helped me rediscover.
I know firsthand what it means to find your tribe again. That’s why I’m passionate about creating spaces where others can reconnect, heal, and continue living lives of character, service, and leadership.