Recognizing the service, contributions, and sacrifices of our veteran and military service men and women, the Beshar Scholars Military Service Award—established by generous donors Peter and Sarah Beshar—supports the educational pursuits and aspirations of John Jay veteran and military students. We sat down with recipients of the scholarship to learn more about how their military service has shaped their lives and how this scholarship will impact their continued path to success.

Graduate student Thomas Donaldson ’21, a detective in the New York City Police Department’s Emergency Service Unit, knows the challenges a veteran faces transitioning from military to civilian life. Now, as he pursues his master’s degree in Security Management, he’s hoping to open the eyes of the public sector regarding the relevance, value, and transference of veterans’ skills. “If somebody was a sniper, I don’t think anybody can find him a job that needs him to shoot somebody a mile away,” says Donaldson. “But here is somebody who has patience and an attention to detail. This is someone who is meticulous.” After serving as a Sergeant and Military Police Officer in the U.S. Army, Donaldson retired from the military in 2008 and smartly capitalized on previously taking the police entrance test and went to community college to earn his certification as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Recently, when making the decision to earn his master’s degree, Donaldson was faced with a dilemma. “I had used up my GI Bill benefits and I couldn’t afford to go back to school because I have a family, a house, and other financial responsibilities. The Beshar Scholars Military Service Award made pursuing my master’s degree possible,” says Donaldson. “There are a lot of veterans who feel that because they don’t have any more GI Bill benefits that they can’t go back to school. What the Beshars have so generously done is opening up educational and professional opportunities to veterans transitioning from military to civilian life.” Donaldson sat down with us to share how his military experience prepared him for his life-after-the-Army career, and to further explain how corporations can better understand and appreciate veterans’ skills.

What drew you to the military?
I decided to serve my country because of my family’s history with the military. Both of my grandfathers served in World War II. One of my grandfathers served on a Navy ship headed to Pearl Harbor two days before the attack. The ship rammed the port they were pulling into and damaged the ship, so they couldn’t leave. My other grandfather was sent to England for training exercises where they were doing shore landings in preparation for D-Day. He was pulled out of that training because he was an air traffic controller and they needed him to coordinate the airdrops over Normandy. I have always respected what it means to serve my country because of their service. I also had a difficult time in high school. When I was looking at community college, I realized that I needed something that would challenge me a little bit more in a different setting. Enlisting in the military gave me a lot of confidence and taught me what it meant to work hard.

Were there any pivotal moments for you while you were in the Army?
I was in Bagram, Afghanistan. We worked in a prison there that had high-value targets and Taliban members. There were four platoons, each assigned with a different task. Two platoons did what was called the Bagram Security Zone. It was a 20-mile radius outside of the base and we worked with local and national police monitoring the area. One platoon worked the jail. The other platoon did logistical escorts. Most of the time, I was either doing escorts or working in the Bagram Security Zone. While I was there, I volunteered at a program where we handed out school supplies to kids. I tried to make an impact wherever I could. The kids loved to be able to go to school, and they loved their backpacks and supplies. My father would call and ask, “What can I send you?” And I would say, “powdered Gatorade, rags, and soccer balls.” I would fill the soccer balls with air and throw them out of the truck. The kids loved them.

How has the military impacted your career as an NYPD detective in the Emergency Service Unit?
I got out of the Army in October of 2009, but I had taken the police test years before and was waiting on the process. In the meantime, I went to community college and got my certification as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). I ended up getting hired by the NYPD in July 2010. In the Emergency Service Unit, we are a very tight-knit group and the training to get in is an additional eight months. My time serving in the Army helped during training. In the military, they break you down to build you up. They try to bring you to a point where you and your fellow service members are at the same level. They teach you that you can accomplish things together as a team. There were a lot of challenges and a lot of hardships. I remember a drill instructor told me this when I was in basic training, and it is the best quote about the military that I have ever heard. He said, “The army has more challenging times than good, but the good outweighs those difficulties.” Training for the Emergency Service Unit was by far 10 times harder than anything I ever experienced in the military, but I also had the confidence that I would get through it because of my experience in the military.

How will the Beshar Scholars Military Service Award change your life? What path has it opened?
The Beshar Scholars Military Service Award is so important for veterans like me. While we have benefits for education, such as the GI Bill, the funding has a limit. At this stage in my life, I couldn’t afford to pay for my tuition on my own. Without the Bashar Scholarship, I would have probably had to take out a loan or put my tuition on a credit card. I would probably have to spend more time away from my wife, Cyndi, and my daughter, Madison. Winning this award was such a relief and it’s such a great support for veterans like me who run out of benefits and need it.

What advice would you give to corporations about hiring veterans?
One day, after I left the military, I went to buy Taco Bell. I was wearing an Army T-shirt when I pulled up at the drive-thru. The guy who gives me my food says, “Hey, you’re in the army?” I said, “I just got out.” He tells me that he just got out, too, and that he served as a tank operator. A lot of times, military jobs don’t apply to the civilian world because I am pretty sure you won’t find somebody who needs a driver that can drive an Abrams tank around. What I think corporations need to realize is the incredible skills veterans offer. That guy I met at Taco Bell worked in an extremely confined space with three other members, and they worked as a team. He has communication skills. He has teamwork skills. He has a strong work ethic. I would like to see more corporations, institutions, and people take a veteran like him and show him how to take his skills and apply it in the civilian world, whether that is through an internship or other job opportunities. I think a lot of veterans out there have an idea of what they want to do, but they might not know how to begin doing it. Corporations can help point veterans in the right direction and open their eyes to careers that they would be good at and feel good doing. Because once you give a veteran a mission, they will focus on it, and they are going to excel.

What do you hope to be doing in the future?
I always wanted to be in the military. I always wanted to be a cop. I always wanted to be in emergency service, and I followed all of those paths. Right now, I would like to continue my professional studies in homeland security. I have seen a lot of really great things companies have done with security programs, and I have seen a lot of things where they just wasted so much money on implementing projects that didn’t work. I have a passion for showing people what makes sense. In the future, I would like to be in some kind of leadership position, either in law enforcement, homeland security, or the security field. Ultimately, I’d love to be in a leadership role that allows me to help other veterans transition to working in the civilian world.