A handful of teachers at FCUS are also United States military veterans. These teachers have gone through many adventures and sacrifices that they have decided to share.
Science teacher, Dr. Micheal Floyd is a former military veteran who joined the army to get away from home. He states that his experience was traumatic as he joined when he was seventeen years old.
“It was, in the beginning, traumatic. I was seventeen years old. I grew up in the army, I became a man, a responsible man and I’m proud of that. The army taught me stuff the real world couldn’t, and I take it one day at a time throughout my life,” Floyd said.
During his time, Floyd received a purple heart after getting bit by a lead mosquito. According to Baylor College of Medicine, lead mosquitos are said to carry a vast number of diseases. These include Zika virus dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, malaria, and more.
“A purple heart is an award that you receive for a job well done in a dangerous situation that resulted in [me] getting bitten by a lead mosquito,” Floyd said.
After the military, Floyd decided to turn to the civilian life and studied science at Hillsborough County Public Schools. Floyd received a doctor’s degree and claimed that he knew more about himself than ever before.
“I learned a lot from those scientists, that I wanted to be one of them. So, I went back to college, studied a lot of science, got a master’s degree in it, and up until I got here, that I decided to go back and get a doctor’s degree in it. It really feels great, I learned more myself than I ever learned. Science is regimental; and being regimental, precise, and outgoing is what I already know,” Floyd said.
English teacher, Zachery Sweeney grew up in a military family and decided to join the air force. He wanted to continue the family legacy in hopes to learn something useful.
“I grew up in a military family, my dad was in the army for thirty plus years, almost his whole life. I just felt like it was part of the family legacy. So, I joined, felt like I wanted to serve and get outside myself to be a little selfless. I was a pretty selfish teacher growing up, so hopefully it would teach me something,” Sweeney said.
Sweeney worked in the reserves and served some time in active duty. He spent his time overseas while visiting many places including several states and different countries.
“I spent [my time] in the reserves primarily but I served some time in active duty. So, I’ve been deployed overseas, and it was a great experience. I’ve seen a lot of places, I’ve been to California, Alaska, Hawaii, Germany, and New York all because of the military. I was working with planes, I’m not a pilot, but I worked with planes along with loading and offloading cargo, and [flew with] people, it was fun,” Sweeney said.
Although Sweeney is still in the reserves, he decided to pursue a career in teaching. He saw teaching as an opportunity to make a difference in many students’ lives.
“Similar to my motivation in the military, I wanted to make a difference in other people’ lives. I knew I had the gift of teaching, [giving] instruction, and all that good stuff. I love literature and I love working with young people whether its college aid students or high school students and helping them grow and flourish into a human being,” Sweeney said
