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BW student veteran Taylor Good '27 reflects on how her military experience helped her find herself and how BW is preparing her for the next step in a civilian career.
I joined the military in 2018 because a close friend from my childhood passed, and my life felt like it was going nowhere. I was scared I was going to be stuck where I was, so I went to a Navy recruiting office a month later.
I left for boot camp on December 18th and graduated on February 9th, 2019, from boot camp. In July of that year, I was assigned to my squadron and went on my first detachment in September.
In early January 2020, as COVID-19 began to spread across the U.S., we were deployed. We were at sea for 206 days, not hitting port on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
We didn't return until September of that year, at which time so many things changed due to COVID. It was really strange.
We were gone for nine months, and when we came back, the world was completely different, but we didn't see the day-to-day reasons of why. We left before COVID was widespread and actually acknowledged, so it took some getting used to when we got back.
Four months later, I was sea-bound once again. We left in January 2021 as part of a double pump, which is when a carrier strike group goes on two separate deployments back-to-back within a single readiness cycle, with only a short break at home.
For both deployments, we headed towards 5th Fleet, the Middle East. We crossed the Atlantic Ocean, went through the Strait of Gibraltar, through the Mediterranean Sea, then the Suez Canal, to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman.
Though we were never in Afghanistan, my squadron helped get the rest of the troops out of that country in 2021. We provided air support. My jet that day, referred to as an "alert bird," was on standby for the mission if needed. Eventually, we got word that support was needed, and the mission was a go, so we ended up launching the "bird" to provide air-to-ground missiles.
In 2023, I separated from the Navy after finishing my contract. I started my first semester at BW in January 2024. I did not allow myself a long transition back to the civilian world. Looking back at it, I probably should have, but here we are.
It's tough going from the military back to a civilian lifestyle, something most of the students and others here likely won't understand.
Being older than 90% of the students on campus is a little strange, though I've gotten used to it by now being a junior. I hang out in the veterans house on campus a lot. That really helps me through the semesters. It's a great place to finish assignments and just hang out with other people who had the same experiences as I did.
I am forever grateful to BW for allowing there to be a good sanctuary for veterans to feel like themselves around others like them.
My professors have been great so far. Professor Tony Dick has helped me a lot through the years here. He really cares for his students and wants them to succeed. In fact, the entire sport management faculty all care so deeply for their students. I see why this program thrives, and I am happy I chose it for my major.
As I move forward with college with the goal of becoming an athletic director of a high school, I hold on to my military experience as something that helped shape me as a person. There is so much about it that stays with me still.
I miss the flight deck. I miss the noise of turning on the jets and the beautiful mornings and evenings from the middle of the ocean. There will honestly be nothing like that again in my life, and I will forever be searching for that feeling again.
The camaraderie, the distance from civilization, being unplugged for months at a time … I think everyone should experience that. It really does help you find who you are. Especially in today's world, I feel like it should be necessary for everyone to experience what I did.
In September 2026, BW was ranked #4 in the category of Best Colleges for Veterans as a Regional University in the Midwest by the U.S. News and World Report.
Baldwin Wallace is a Yellow Ribbon School and is the recipient of a Collegiate Purple Star Award from the State of Ohio. In addition, BW has been recognized over the years by GI Jobs magazine as a military-friendly school.
More information is available for interested veterans and military students.
