Michael Bearth is our Peer Advisor of the Month! Michael served in the Marine Corps as a Battalion Maintenance Management Chief and is now studying mechanical engineering at Wichita State. He will be doing an internship with NASA in Houston this summer and hopes that will lead to a job there once he completes his degree next year. WSU Team Leader Ciaban Peterson nominated Michael, saying, “Michael Bearth, a new Peer Advisor, has hit the ground running this semester by not only being aggressive in his development (he finished his prescribed training within a day) but truly developing meaningful relationships with his peers.”

Michael was serving as a Veteran Senator in WSU’s Student Government Association when he met PAVE Team Leader Ciaban Peterson. Michael wanted to serve the veterans community, so once he learned about PAVE, he approached Ciaban and asked how he could help. Shortly after, he became a Peer Advisor, and he’s been able to connect with other student veterans and help them, including one individual who was struggling with a class. Michael met up with her, learned more about her situation, and then connected her with a tutor who could help. Commenting on how his experience as a Peer Advisor will aid him in the future, Michael says, “People skills are very valuable, no matter what job you have, it will help make me better at talking to people I don’t know.” Thank you for all you’re doing in service to fellow student veterans, Michael!