Former Marine One crewman advocates for fellow veterans

Brandon Parks M’25 has a story that traverses the world. He’s a Marine Corps veteran, a first-generation college graduate, one of four children and part of the first cohort to earn degrees in Furman University’s Advocacy and Social Policy master’s program.

Parks grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, the oldest son to a single mother. He wanted to contribute to the household immediately after graduating from high school and found a place in the military.

That career took off, literally. He served as a crew chief in aviation, quickly rising through the ranks to become a quality assurance inspector and, eventually, a member of the elite HMX-1 Presidential Helicopter Squadron. From 2009 to 2014, Parks traveled the globe alongside President Barack Obama, maintaining and clearing aircraft for presidential transport.

“You don’t realize it at the time, but you’re witnessing history,” he says. “Flying over Joplin, Missouri, after the tornadoes, or rushing back to Colorado right after the Aurora theater shooting — you see the scope of how people are affected. That was when advocacy started to really matter to me.”

After nine years, Parks was forced to leave the military in 2014 due to a serious leg injury sustained during a hard landing. He admits that the experience of going from high-impact, sometimes high-intensity situations, to civilian life was jarring.

“There’s a structure in the military – where to be, what to wear, when you get paid – that disappears overnight,” he recalls. “I remember sitting on the bed asking, ‘Who am I now?’”

He tried the corporate route, working at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, helping to install the robotics that assemble vehicles. But despite the pay and prestige, Parks felt unfulfilled. A vacation to New York, including a tour of Columbia University, reignited his interest in learning. He walked away from Tesla and stepped into academia, earning a dual bachelor’s in sociology and Africana studies from San Francisco State University before finding Furman and its new Advocacy and Social Policy master’s program almost by accident.

The first cohort of the new Advocacy and Social Policy master’s program graduated in 2025 and included Brandon Parks M’25 (second from right).

“I literally just typed ‘advocacy program’ into Google, and Furman popped up,” Parks says, still amused by the serendipity. “Never in my life did I think I’d actually go to Furman.”

Once there, Parks found more than coursework, he found clarity. One class, Dialogue for Social Change, stood out. It showed him how to talk across differences and the most critical skill of listening and trying to make effective and actual change.

And in true Furman fashion, he didn’t simply study advocacy, he lived it. Through an internship with Upstate Forever’s Citizens Planning Academy, Parks helped local residents learn how to communicate with elected officials and craft impactful public comments.

“Taking what I learned in class and putting it directly into the community, that’s the magic of this program and the impact of Furman,” he says.

Now, Parks is headed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  to pursue a doctorate in organizational and educational change. His goal: tackle veteran homelessness and improve the often-treacherous transition from military to civilian life that he experienced firsthand.

He credits Furman, and faculty like Shaniece Criss, associate professor of health sciences and director of this master’s program, for giving him both the academic challenges and personal encouragement to aim higher.

“She’s from Greenville, like me. To see someone from my community with a doctorate – it made me believe I could do it, too.”

Parks admits the road ahead isn’t easy, but he’s walked difficult roads before. He remembers getting through boot camp, recovering from his injury, starting his bachelor’s degree nine years after high school, moving across the country to his hometown and being among the first to earn this particular master’s degree.

“But I made it,” he says. “Every challenge since then, I just remind myself, I did that. I can do this, too.”