War always brings uncertainty. But for retired major Sean Taylor, it was a moment of opportunity. At 35, Taylor was close to aging out of eligibility to join the National Guard, but he made it happen.
He traded in his psychology degree that summer to go to basic training. After basic, he went to Officer Candidate School (OCS) and committed his weekends and summers to serving in the National Guard. After OCS, Taylor went to Officer Basic in San Antonio Fort Sam in Houston, setting him up for his role as Medical Operation Officer.
“I was non-medical, but I was kind of the platoon leader over medics and ran clinics and things like that. That’s what I was trained to do,” Taylor says about the skillset he learned.
During one of his deployments, Taylor wound up injured with a blood clot in his leg. The service shipped him off to get better. “I got Medevac out of Afghanistan [and] was sent to Germany,” says Taylor. “I actually got home after my units did.”
Going home after being deployed is rarely described as an easy feat, but Taylor had little time to readjust.
“I started right away teaching again it was almost like two days later, so I just went right back. From that environment right into the classroom that was kind of a struggle. It’s a different world, the military. When you ask people to do stuff in the military, they do it, right? So, it’s kind of hard,” Taylor says.
“I had a lot of PTSD issues. After that deployment, just being in crowds, loud noises, I can’t do fireworks anymore. I don’t go to concerts anymore with tons of people. Sometimes I do, but it’s hard. Then, I started the 5k race,” says Taylor.
“I always say we lost six people to combat in Afghanistan during our time there, but I lost count at about 30 for suicides, Taylor says. “And I hear it’s lots higher. So that’s where I really started wanting to focus on helping, especially veterans that were National Guard reservists. When you leave deployment, you come home to your regular job, to your regular people. You don’t come home to a military base where you can figure things out for a while.”
“It has made impact of getting other people to know about veterans, especially here at DMACC, and especially here on the Boone campus. We focus on that. We also focus on students in general because 16 to 24-year -olds, it’s also a high rate of suicide. I think we’ve done well in bringing community together and bringing people together, making them aware.”
Taylor talks about an old student of his who’s moved into charity work after graduation, “This year, we are helping out an organization in Kansas City that helps veterans get housing. And the reason why we’re focusing on that is because one of the students who helped organize this race as part of the honors program back in 2017, changed her whole life after that and decided that she wanted to spend her life doing things to help others in the community and helping veterans. And after she graduated with her bachelors, she started working for this organization. So, there’s one win.”
Taylor gets students involved in the fundraisers. He says, “I want people to be aware of the community that they live in and the special needs of the very diverse populations that we have and doing what we can to help. I try to turn it over to students to get it organized.”
“The student that I was talking about, Jamie Jordan, who works in Kansas City on that, it’s her hope to bring it to Des Moines. And so that’s why we’re kind of pushing for this. We’re trying to build that bridge.”
“I think it’s a good time to build that bridge because the governor did pass laws for homelessness. Right now, people aren’t going to be allowed to live in tent cities within Des Moines. So, I think there’s an opportunity that we can start pushing out this idea of building communities for people with little homes,” Taylor says. “It’s temporary housing. It’s not a forever thing, it’s just to get them you know and to get them job training and job help.”
Nancy Woods, Honors advisor, and someone who has known Taylor for 11 years, says, “Professor Taylor cares deeply for his students,” and “Sean is honest with his students, and he challenges them to new insights and understandings. He is one of the humblest, patient, and kind people I’ve ever known. He inspires me.”
Working so closely with the event Woods has seen a lot, saying, “By the old saying, ‘Many hands make light work.’ It is through the involvement and commitment of students, faculty, and staff that we can successfully coordinate and produce this impactful fundraiser. Sean is committed to working hard to bring another In My Boots 5K to a successful conclusion!”
If you want to join the In My Boots 5K, register by April 1, 2025 to secure yourself a t-shirt.
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