TMS Rick Schumacher, Park University

I haven’t really run since I left the Army. That was in 2004. I have a couple of pretty severe back injuries that have always held me back. Last year, I helped with the Pat’s Run Shadow Run in Austin, TX and had the opportunity to represent Tillman Military Scholars side-by-side with TMS Angela Durko. She ran and I stayed behind guarding the purses, water and breakfast tacos. At the end of that Pat’s Run, Angela challenged me to run with her the next year.

In August, I quit smoking. In January, I joined a gym. Those 4.2 miles ran off in the distance. I was looking forward to meeting the challenge that Angela had given me. Then in March, I was accepted into a study that might help with one of my back injuries. I had two procedures and was immediately unable to walk without a cane. Since it was a new study, no one was entirely sure what the pain level would be like. For weeks, I stumbled. I was unable to go to the gym. I was practically unable to get out of bed. I was sure at this point that I was not going to be able to meet my challenge. By now, Angela’s words were amplified. I thought about Pat Tillman, his legacy and my part of that legacy as a Tillman Military Scholar. I woke up early and stretched every day. I walked around the block with my cane. After a week I was able to walk without the cane for a bit. I was hoping to walk a portion of the 4.2 as a sign that I was trying to live up to the legacy.

The day of the run arrived. I woke up early. I was able to walk without the cane at all. I decided that I would suit up in my running clothes, just in case I was able to walk part of the course. I met up with Angela, the awesome ASU Alumni and 40 or so runners dressed in red and black Pat’s Run race shirts. We all walked down to the starting line on the edge of Lady Bird Lake in Austin. I thought about my past, as an Army Paratrooper, how 5Ks were a weekly routine. I thought again about Pat Tillman and what I thought he would have done. I saw photos from other Tillman Military Scholars getting set to run in Tempe. I thought about Angela’s challenge. And then I ran.

This past week I had the privilege of attending Inc. Magazine’s GrowCo event in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was quite an experience! As a Tillman Military Scholar, I was selected, along with fellow TMS Tim Smith, to attend as part of Inc.’s Military Entrepreneurs program (ME). The ME Program, in its first year, has provided access to this event as well as the Inc. 500/5000 conference, which was held in D.C. this past September.

Tillman Military Scholars Rick Schumacher and Tim Smith tour the Intralox factory in New Orleans at the start of Inc.'s GrowCo conference.

I started the week off with a very early flight out of Austin, arriving in NOLA at around 9:00 a.m. and meeting up with Tim for some obligatory brunch and a walk down Bourbon. Just in time, we met up with the delegation and were fortunate enough to go on a tour of Intralox, a company that manufactures plastic formed conveyor belts for every purpose imaginable. From there we met up with the GrowCo attendees and mingled. Finally, Hunter Riley took Tim and I to eat at a favorite local food spot called Mississippi River Bottom (MRB).

The next morning we were in for some great speakers and abundant learning opportunities. The speakers included some of the brightest minds in business like Dr. Alexander Osterwalder, Neil Blumenthal, Jay Lapeyre, Chef John Besh and the indescribable Norm Brodsky. Additionally, we had a personal meeting with Shark Tank personality, Daymond John, the creator of the FUBU brand. We also had the opportunity to listen to political powerhouses like New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Louisiana Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne and, amazingly, President Bill Clinton. These speakers were each outstanding and having the opportunity to listen to them was really what being a Tillman Military Scholar is all about for me. The Foundation gives me opportunities that I would not otherwise have.

Pat Tillman Foundation Director of Programs Hunter I Riley (left) and Tillman Military Scholar Rick Schumacher (right) met with FUBU brand creator Daymond John at Inc. Magazine's GrowCo conference in New Orleans.

Most importantly, I had the opportunity to network with other veterans and military spouses as well as 500 other business owners. We had opportunities to be advised by successful business owners and exchange ideas with a mentor; mine who I’ve already exchanged emails with after leaving the conference. Thanks to the Pat Tillman Foundation, this has been one heck of an opportunity – one that will help shape the formation of my business for years to come.