Josh has worked as a VA Coordinator in the University Veterans Services office in One Stop Student Services for two and a half years. His background in the armed forces and bachelors degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota aid him as a student counselor.
Along with doing typical One Stop Counselor duties like answering student inquiries about registration, billing, and financial aid, Josh also provides counseling to student veterans.
Josh works with the roughly 750 students who receive GI Bill benefits and state benefits at the U. "I help student veterans get started at the U," he said.
Every year, University Veterans Services hosts Veterans Appreciation Day in November. The planning for that important event is starting now and Josh is helping with some of the details.
Josh's knowledge of veterans services comes from his own experience as a United States Army Airborne Infantry veteran. He served for three years. "I was the guy that jumped out of planes and then did work on the ground," he said. Josh did training jumps from about 1,200 feet.
He narrowly missed being deployed to Afghanistan after September 11. "My unit was next to deploy, but I was exempt," he said. "I didn't have enough time left in my contract to be deployed so I stayed in the States while my unit went overseas."
"In the military, you get to meet people from all over the nation, and sometimes the world. And you are all there for the same reason," he said. "Then you get to see the good side of people. You learn so much about yourself and others."
Beyond work, Josh and his girlfriend of seven years enjoy spending time with their daughter, Mikayla, and pitbull-mix, Ernie.
"My daughter is 18 months old and she's the smartest kid I know," he said. "One of my biggest fears is her not being a decent person when she grows up. But I'm not too worried about it."
Josh and his daughter love going to the park and "swinging for 10 second intervals." He says his favorite vacation spot is his house because he just enjoys staying home with his family and not doing things.
He also plays in softball two nights a week and tournaments on the weekends. "I used to play more often, but I've gotten too old," he said.
One of his other past times is eating and cooking. "I love to cook, but my girlfriend and daughter don't really appreciate what I make," he said. "My cooking mainstay is buffalo sauce. It's a really big thing in my life."
He also loves Facebook. In fact, the two things Josh can't live without are his daughter and Facebook. "I'm amazing at Candy Crush Saga," he said.
Through everything, Josh maintains his sense of humor. In fact, that's the main reason he loves working in ASR. "The people I work with in One Stop and University Veterans Services are awesome," he said. "We have similar personalities and get along really well. We are always joking around."
One surprising thing about Josh: Though he has jumped out of numerous airplanes in the military, he has never been skydiving and isn't really interested in trying it.
Josh Jokes
1. His favorite movie is Shawshank Redemption.
2. Growing up, he wanted to be a professional athlete.
3. For Halloween last year, he dressed up as a smurf.
4. His favorite food is Jimmy John's sandwiches or the Buffalo Chicken Burrito from Burrito Loco with extra buffalo sauce. "Buffalo sauce is very important in my diet."
5. His first concert was Reba McIntyre.
6. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien is his favorite book.
7. If he could be anything, Josh would be rich. "I'd like to give it a try."
8. His favorite type of music is country and rap.
9. The last book he read was The Big Book of Pulps.
10. If he could have any superpower, it would be to fly. "It's nice to be in the air."
