Eric May has traveled the globe. But when it came to continuing his education, the U.S. Army veteran had one destination in mind: Ohio State.

As an Ohio native with an engineering background, May was eager to contribute to the growing entrepreneurial community in Columbus.

“It’s a rewarding experience to help others make connections and achieve their dreams,” says May, who was selected for the Sesquicentennial Student Scholar Leadership Program. “I want to see people succeed.”

A software engineer, May arrived as a student in Fisher’s MBA for Working Professionals program after an Army career in which he deployed to Iraq, South Korea and Hawaii. He also spent time as an engineering ambassador while pursuing his undergraduate degree, and he has traveled to 15 countries as a result of his service and personal excursions, including backpacking trips through Europe.

May uses his experiences and drive to help others outside the classroom, including mentoring up-and-coming engineers through events such as Hack OHI/O — Ohio State’s largest hackathon in which more than 750 undergrad and graduate students spend a weekend designing projects for tech companies. He’s also involved in Columbus’ biannual Startup Weekends, which allows participants to take an idea from concept to prototyping and validation to funding.

“For me, it comes down to building up and making my own community better, like Ohio State has done for the last 150 years,” May says. “I like that Ohio State is synonymous with Columbus, and that the university is so heavily involved in the community. This inspires me to do the same. I want to stand with people and institutions that are making a place better.”

Content and photo courtesy of The Ohio State University Alumni Association.