91制片厂

When 91制片厂 Today asked Bill Cudmore for a photo and interview for this series, he suggested meeting at 91制片厂鈥檚 towering climbing wall inside New Hampshire Hall. Once we met the recent / grad, it became clear why.

鈥淭his is where I鈥檝e spent more of my time as a student at 91制片厂 than anywhere else,鈥� he says.

Cudmore took every climbing course that 91制片厂 offers, and when he ran out of those, he worked as a teaching assistant in a handful of climbing courses and then volunteered with , helping run rock climbing events, and , where he ran adaptive climbing programs.

And yes, he can get to the top of the 45-foot composite rock. Easily.

Cudmore, of Litchfield, New Hampshire, has served in the military for 17 years and is still active in the U.S. Army Reserves. He鈥檚 as resourceful and innovative as you would expect a soldier to be 鈥� during a tour in Iraq, he used a shipping container to fashion a climbing wall 鈥� and he loves the wilderness. The night before his 91制片厂 Today interview, he slept under the stars in a hammock on the grounds of The Browne Center, another 91制片厂 haunt near and dear to his heart.

Cudmore says when he discovered the outdoor education program in 91制片厂鈥檚 College of Health and Human Services it was 鈥渁 no brainer鈥� for him to enroll.

Vet to Vet: Bill Cudmore鈥檚 Advice to Incoming Student Veterans

1. Be personable. Talk to people. Go out and have fun. The networking opportunities that have arisen for me from doing this are why I landed this job. It really helps out when you鈥檙e trying to figure out where you are going and what you are doing.

2. Absolutely go see Lonn Sattler and Karen Gilbert and the rest of the crew at , who work with veterans. They are so supportive and so helpful all the time. They鈥檙e the right people to talk to for vets, period, and they鈥檙e a very welcoming community. For any vets going through school, go see them.

Last fall, he completed the practicum requirement for his degree working at Higher Ground, a Sun Valley, Idaho, organization that brings the outdoors and outdoor recreation to individuals who have disabilities, including vets. Higher Ground brings veterans on weeklong trips into the wilderness where they can experience skiing, whitewater rafting and horseback riding into the mountains to fly fish, for example.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all about taking veterans who are dealing with post-traumatic stress, polytrauma, sexual trauma 鈥� and helping them feel whole again, helping them feel that they can do whatever they want,鈥� Cudmore says. 鈥淓verybody enjoys leisure. How can we give these vets some sense of normalcy by including leisure in their lives again? It鈥檚 really important for our own mental health to be able to relax and go do something fun that we enjoy. So how can green spaces, being out in the wilderness, how can they take that and bring that into their lives? That鈥檚 what Higher Ground does.鈥�

And that鈥檚 what Cudmore will do in his new role as director of veterans鈥� initiatives and events at the nonprofit BlazeSports America, a provider of adaptive sports for veterans based near Atlanta, Georgia. He鈥檒l help develop the organization鈥檚 outdoor recreation program and enhance its climbing program.

He didn鈥檛 apply for it; Blaze sought him out, and while he鈥檚 鈥渟till reeling,鈥� Cudmore听says, 鈥淚鈥檓 so excited to have landed what I consider to be my desired end-state right out of school.鈥�

He says he looks forward to bringing positivity into the lives of his fellow service men and women who鈥檝e experienced combat or other traumatic events.

鈥淵es, something鈥檚 different for them, but that doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e any less of a person; they can move forward from here; we might just need to work on it a little bit. That鈥檚 the whole goal: Let鈥檚 let them work on it a little bit and move forward so they can live happy, healthy, productive lives.鈥�