Most people find their childhood heroes in the pages of a comic book, looking up to superheroes and wishing for their powers. But not Steve. He found his heroes in the military at a young age, and grew up wishing he could become one of them. Each year, he'd attend the air show and admire how the service members gave back to their country. After Steve married his high school sweetheart and started a family, however, his focus was on the life they were building together.

Then one day, his wife brought home paperwork for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, telling Steve that if he still wanted to join, now would be the time. A few days later, Steve signed up for the Marines Reserves. He was sworn in on 9/12/2001 and served for eight years, including a deployment to Iraq from 2004-2005. While overseas, he worked at the Direct Air Support Center, where he coordinated air support requests for ground operations.

Upon returning home and exiting the military, Steve started experiencing symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Around the same time, his job required him to get a college degree, so he ended up taking an art class with a professor who focused on painting emotions. During this process, Steve found that creating art about difficult subjects made them easier to discuss with others, which ultimately put him on a path towards healing.

Steve realized that he could help his fellow veterans who were struggling with similar issues, and he opened the Warrior's Art Room. This organization provides a space for veterans and their families to express themselves through art-and work through complicated emotions during the process. Importantly for Steve, it's not limited to just painting. They also offer blacksmithing, quilting, poetry, and more, and now have a gallery to display their work.

"We've helped a lot of people overcome a lot of different areas of stress in their life through art," Steve says. "It's not really about the end result of what they're making. It's about, hey, pour yourself into this. And hopefully something comes out of it that you benefit from. It's not going to be just something to hang on the wall. It might be helping you overcome something you couldn't talk about like it was for me."

Learn more about Warrior's Art Room and the work they're doing with veterans and families at https://warriorsartroom.org.

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