As a member of the infantry, Marcus Wilson survived five deployments over the course of his military career. He served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. With each deployment, a new member of his family arrived: Caleb Michael, 10; Jacob Christopher, 8; Serenity Li, 3, Mehki Marcel 1; and Daniel Jae, 7 months.
Between deployments, Marcus also began attending school. He completed an Associate’s degree in Network Security before enrolling at ECPI University’s Greenville campus as a database programming student. Life as usual seemed to be norm; however, Marcus now says that he was only “pretending to be normal.”
After spending years of training and living as a soldier, adjustments to day-to-day life were difficult. “They teach you how to be a soldier, but no one teaches you how to return home,” says Marcus. He was eventually referred to Upstate Warrior Solution; which in turn, led to his participation in Veteran’s Court, a diversion program that aids veterans in living productive lives and keeps them out of the criminal justice system.[Tweet ““They teach you how to be a soldier, but no one teaches you how to return home.””]
Marcus graduated from Veteran’s court after more than a year of attending counseling sessions, spending time with other combat veterans, and providing community service. He is now working at a VA counseling center as he completes his degree.
When asked about the future, Marcus says, “Knowledge is not power. Power is in the application of knowledge.” He now plans to use his knowledge to assist other veterans.[Tweet ““Knowledge is not power. Power is in the application of knowledge.””]
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