From U.S. Air Force to UArizona, SBS Outstanding Senior Prioritizes Helping Others: Michael Laird, '20

Michael Laird – who is graduating with a 4.0 GPA and a B.S. in Care, Health & Society (CHS), with a minor in Psychology – is the recipient of the SBS Outstanding Senior Award for winter 2020. The award is given to a graduating senior with a record of outstanding achievement, a history of active citizenship on campus and/or in the local Tucson community, and a demonstrated capacity for leadership.

Michael is a “post-traditional” student – having come to the University of Arizona after retiring from the U.S. military after 20 years of service.

Michael joined the military – first the U.S Army followed by the U.S. Air Force – over a year after high school after taking classes at community college for three semesters. He was a technical sergeant and supervisor, working as a “structural craftsman,” Michael said, helping to build and maintain bases. He was deployed five times and served in two war zones, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

After Michael retired out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Michael wasn’t sure what he wanted to do next. He realized the biggest clue to his next life phase was in what he missed most about his military career: supervising others and helping his fellow service members who were in need of support – whether it was 18-year-olds away from home for the first time or deployed airmen missing their spouses and kids.

Michael decided that his ideal job would be working at the VA, helping veterans with vocational rehabilitation and employment. Having already received his associate’s degree from the Community College of the Air Force, Michael decided getting a B.S. in Care, Health and Society at the University of Arizona was an ideal next step to help him reach his goals.  

Michael met professors in the School of Sociology who would serve as mentors, especially Jim Shockey, Lorre Laws, and Brian Mayer. Michael gave his advisor, John McLean, a special shout-out for helping him navigate life at the university.

“John was just so amazing. He helped me come in as a transfer student and come up with a game plan for how to graduate as quickly as possible. He gave me advice on just everything – classes, professors,” Michael said.

When he came to the University of Arizona, Michael quickly became a campus and community leader. He interned for Zenith Tribal Utility Consultants, helping with cross-cultural communication platform building through utility construction and economic development programs. And as an intern at Davis Monthan Air Force Base Transition Center, Michael assisted airmen with the transition from active duty to civilian life.

Michael also served two semesters on Assistant Professor Lorre Laws’s Undergraduate Instructional Team as learning assistant and team leader, providing 1:1 support to at-risk students and those struggling with the online learning format.

“Without Michael’s contributions and leadership, a good number of students would not have passed or withdrawn from these courses,” said Law, who nominated Michael for the Outstanding Student honor.

Michael was set to graduate in spring 2020 but ended up staying for another semester, so he could take an internship as an Arizona House of Representatives Legislative Research Analyst, an opportunity not in obvious alignment with his career goals.

“I got a letter recommending me for it, and I thought ‘no way. I didn’t want to do it,’” Michael said. “But then I thought ‘I don’t want to be 80 years old and look back and go, I wonder what would have happened if I did that? Would it have changed my direction?’”

“So, I did it. I was the oldest one in the program. And it was a lot of hard work – oh my, the long hours,” Michael said. “It was so interesting to kind of see how the sausage is made.”

Michael’s commitment to helping others is reflected in his volunteer commitments, as well. He helped launch and is secretary/treasurer for the nonprofit Mending Souls, which has distributed blankets to persons experiencing homelessness, through Z Mansion in collaboration with CHS instructor Tom Hill.

At the onset of COVID-19, Mending Souls sewed and donated over 100,000 cloth masks to various groups – including hospitals, charities, Native American tribes, and community members – and Michael helped organize the more than 1,000 volunteers.

Michael said he was excited and honored when he got the email letting him know he received the SBS Outstanding Senior Award.

“I stared at the screen for a couple minutes, wondering if they sent this to the right guy,” Michael said.  “Sometimes I still think of myself like the kid I was in high school, when I was struggling. I was right around a 2.0 GPA and was not focused. But people grow and change, so don’t give up. Everybody matures and gets there in their own time.”

Michael is excited for his next step, which is applying to master’s programs in rehabilitation counseling, and is grateful for the support and inspiration he found in the Care, Health and Society major: “I loved being at the UA.”