When Samuel Rashe enrolled at 吃瓜头条 in 2013, it was his second attempt at a college education.
He鈥檇 been away for 15 years before that, having successful careers with the U.S. Air Force and as a deputy sheriff in New Mexico.
Even though Rashe was an adult the second time around, college was still new. Now a senior planner with Madera County, Rashe said the support from enthusiastic veterans running the 1st Lt. Peter J. Gallo Veterans Resource Center (VRC) at 吃瓜头条 helped him ace his reboot.
鈥淚 remember the first time I went to the Veterans Center, I was pretty nervous,鈥� Rashe said. 鈥淭he person gave me some directions about where I should go and what to do, and I guess I retreated a little. So the person said, 鈥極K, come with me. I鈥檒l show you.鈥欌��
That small gesture unlocked a door.
鈥淭hey took a hands-on approach, and that relieved my anxiety,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hen my counselor told me what all of it was about.
鈥淎ll the people at the center were veterans, too. They understood why I felt self-conscious. It鈥檚 because veterans have their own way of communicating. We see the world a little differently than everyone else. Having a network really helps.鈥�
Rashe has long been the sort of person who could zero in on new challenges. But the first time he tried 吃瓜头条, straight out of Atwater High School, he wasn鈥檛 ready.
鈥淚 went for a couple of years and failed horribly,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 lacked focus.鈥�
Rashe learned focus and discipline in spades while serving in the U.S. Air Force at Holloman AFB from 1998 to 2004. He worked there both with the Air Force and as a civilian in security forces at Holloman through 2008. By that time, Rashe was ready for a job change.
鈥淓ven as a civilian, I was a little restless,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 ready to sit behind a desk. I wanted to be on the ground, in the community. So I became a cop for a while.鈥�
Rashe served as a deputy sheriff in Do帽a Ana County in Las Cruces, N.M., from 2008-13. He and his wife Jennifer鈥攖hey鈥檇 met at the Merced Mall as youngsters鈥攖hen moved back home in 2013. He began thinking about his college experience, and it felt unfinished, which rankled him. He was ready to try again.
鈥淭he focus and the discipline I once lacked, I now had,鈥� Rashe said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something the military taught me. I became very focused. I took my grades very seriously.鈥�
Choosing a civilian career wasn鈥檛 difficult. While serving his country and his community, Rashe also nurtured a desire to study environmental restoration and urban planning. He earned a B.S. from San Jose State University, which has the oldest and one of the best environmental studies programs in the country, in 2018.
Now five years into this second act, Rashe has already helped complete important work for the City of Atwater, projecting housing, transportation and safety needs for the growth the city anticipates over the next 20 years.
Working with Madera County, Rashe is digging into the planning centered around two new developments in southeast Madera鈥擱iverstone and Tesoro Viejo. You can feel his excitement about the possibilities when he explained that the work will be 鈥渓ike building a new city.鈥�
Rashe, who also helped build up the veterans club at the college during his time there, wants all veterans to get the second chance he got.
鈥淪ome vets may not have an idea of what they want to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淕oing back to school after the military can be intimidating. I can鈥檛 speak more highly of the VRC, their networking with vets and support of vets.鈥�
鈥淕oing back to school after the military can be intimidating. I can鈥檛 speak more highly of the Veterans Resource Center.鈥�