Andy Martin
Graduate Student in Social Work
University of Southern California
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
I was an athlete in high school and got a scholarship to go to college.
After college, I worked in criminal justice for some time, then I decided to enlist in the Army.
Serving on the front-lines overseas and then coming home safely was a huge milestone.
However, while serving, I suffered an injury that impacted me physically and mentally.
After my service ended, I looked for mental health resources for vets and found them to be scarce.
This inspired me to tackle the shortage myself; I started volunteering and went back to school.
Another defining moment for me was being accepted into a master's program.
I'm currently pursuing my master's degree at the University of Southern California.
Education
Career
Graduate Student in Social Work
I'm a veteran who wants to fill the gaps in the lack of mental health resources for my fellow vets.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Medicine
Non-Profit Organizations
Helping People
Day to Day
Mondays through Wednesdays, I intern at a homeless shelter from 7:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. Each morning we serve breakfast to our patrons, who are mostly veterans. After that, we take on new cases and offer services and advice until lunchtime. After lunch, we work with our specific cases to help them find jobs and housing. After I leave the shelter, I have class from 6-9 p.m. I devote Thursday and Friday to working on my master's project, and on weekends, I try to get out of town and do some fishing.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
No matter what career you pick, the most important thing on your resume is going to be your schooling. It seems like everyone has an undergraduate degree these days, so you should hands-down go to college, if you can.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Bachelor
Graduate
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Peers:
"You have a pretty good life and a college degree...why would you ever want to join the military?"
