Student Spotlight: Jacob Travis
Nov. 5, 2019
Two years removed from his final deployment in the Philippines and less than a year
removed from a life-changing journey to heal from within, Jacob Travis wakes up each
morning knowing his story can benefit others who’ve walked in his shoes.
A former United States Marine, Travis is in his first semester at the Community College
of Rhode Island pursuing an associate degree in Business with the dream of one day
working with fellow veterans to ensure they get the help and guidance they need to
successfully transition back to civilian life.
“I’m blessed to be in this position. I’ve been through the hardships and I’ve made
it out, even when there were times I didn’t think I would,” Travis said. “Not everyone
is as lucky. Now I have such a different outlook on life.”
Since enrolling at CCRI this semester, the 25-year-old Cranston native has hit the
ground running, studying full-time for his associate degree in addition to reviving
the college’s Student Veterans Organization chapter – dormant since 2015 – as the
new president under the guidance of CCRI’s Veterans Resource Coordinator Denny Cosmo.
He’s also participating in two business research projects and working at the college’s
Veterans Services Office through the VA’s work-study program. The next step is to
graduate CCRI and transfer to Bryant University to major in Leadership and Innovation
Management with a minor in Psychology.
“When I first met Denny, he laid out all the potential opportunities for me within
the Veterans Services Office, but told me, ‘It’s all on you,’” Travis said. “I said
to myself, ‘I’m going to do this legwork because I care about this and I want to be
like that guy,’ so that’s what I’ve been doing. It’s been an amazing experience.”
Travis wasn’t always this focused or goal-oriented. A third-generation Marine, he
grew up with both parents – his father was a successful international businessman
following his discharge from the military – and an older brother, but bounced between
high schools due to his self-admitted lack of interest in the curriculum. Problems
at home weighed him down. He tried his hand at Cranston West High School’s vocational
program as a junior before returning to Cranston East the following year, where he
was forced to make up 17 credits online in order to graduate on time.
Having been raised by a former military sergeant, Travis didn’t lack discipline. He
lacked drive. He sought counseling as a teenager in an effort to find an outlet for
his emotions, but the sessions merely scratched the surface. He originally enrolled
at CCRI in 2012, but lacked the focus and desire to succeed. He needed a change of
pace. He felt “trapped” in Rhode Island, so, at 19, he packed his belongings and moved
to Beaufort, SC, to live with his aunt and uncle and their three daughters.
Within weeks, Travis signed up for the Marine Corps, following the family tradition.
Military life provided the structure he lacked at home.
“It was a huge wakeup call, and I gave in to the transformation,” Travis said. “I
really wanted to dive in and be a Marine and change as much as possible.”
Travis soared through boot camp, graduated as Private First Class, and landed a role
as an Ammunition Technician Specialist, dealing with all forms of ammunition from
explosives and artillery rockets to pyrotechnics and small firearms. He served two
deployments, both in Okinawa, Japan, and Marawi, Philippines, working with foreign
armies and weapons disposal units. Following his final deployment, Travis served as
an Explosives Chief at 2nd Law Enforcement Battalion at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina,
a more traditional “desk job” in which he tallied ammunition inventories and briefed
battalion commanders. He also earned a Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal from the
Secretary of the Navy.
Though he wasn’t stationed in a combat zone, the effects of serving overseas caught
up with Travis following his honorable discharge in August of 2018. He had trouble
reacclimating to the civilian lifestyle, a common struggle for military veterans.
He felt he lacked a “sense of purpose.” He began drinking heavily and was eventually
diagnosed with depression. He contemplated suicide.
“In the Marines, I was used to having someone tell me, ‘This is what needs to get
done,’ and I’d make sure it got done. Then you get out and you think, ‘I have nothing
to do right now,’” Travis said.
“I hit a real low point in my life. I had spent all my life and invested all my time
and energy into becoming a Marine. I put everything into it. My purpose in life was
to be a Marine. Then I get out and I’m like, ‘I have no purpose.’”
An automobile accident in which Travis says he was “lucky” to survive was the final
wake-up call he needed to seek help. Instead of his original plan of returning to
CCRI in the spring of 2019, he spent six months at North Cottage, a substance abuse
treatment facility in Norton, MA. He’s now one year sober with a new lease on life
and, more importantly, an unrelenting drive to help others who’ve traveled the same
path, many of whom, he says, don’t realize they have a problem.
“There are 22 veterans that commit suicide each day,” Travis said. “There are also
more than 300 veterans within our four campuses. We’re just beginning to skim the
surface.
“I’d like to open up the Student Veterans Organization to everyone,” he continued.
“Next semester, I’m going to each of our campuses for face-to-face time with our student
veterans. We know how to help people. We have a passion. There’s something instilled
in each one of us that drives us to continue serving for the greater good. I want
to help people not make the same mistakes I made.”
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