Earning a Degree at the Bottom of the World: College in Antarctica
In this episode of Unstoppable Stories, host Nathan James sits down with Mark Driscoll, a firefighter, EMS provider, and UMGC alumnus, to explore his remarkable journey of pursuing education while living and working in one of the most extreme environments on Earth鈥擜ntarctica. Mark shares how he stayed mentally engaged through Polar T3 Syndrome by turning to his 黑料社区 classes, using education as a tool to combat isolation and challenge his mind.
Mark reflects on his unique educational experience, the support he received from UMGC instructors, and how perseverance helped him push through tough times. He also shares his philosophy on breaking unhealthy cycles and building a life of purpose and pride.
Tune in for an inspiring conversation about resilience, adaptability, and the power of education, no matter where life takes you.
Episode Information
Mark Driscoll:
I end up getting down to Antarctica and they say, well, the sun's gonna set, you know, in a couple of weeks and it's not gonna come back. And they start talking to me about this thing called Polar T three syndrome. And what happens is it impacts your thyroid hormones and it really just messes with your mind in a way that, that, I don't know how to accurately explain. Like it kind of makes you like a walking zombie going around. And the best way to combat that and actually stay, for lack of better terms, a person that people wanna be around. Is to stay mentally engaged.
Intro:
Welcome to the UMGC podcast, Unstoppable Stories with your host, Nathan James.
Nathan James:
Hello everybody. Welcome. Good to see you. Good to have you, uh, here. And, uh, I'm here with Mark Driscoll, who is a UMGC graduate and a firefighter and EMS provider here in Maryland. Uh, mark. Good to have you on.
Mark Driscoll:
Thank you for having me, Nathan. It's great to be here.
Nathan James:
Yeah. Yeah. And for our audience, uh, fun fact, uh, for nearly eight months, uh, mark lived and worked in Antarctica as a civilian fire medic and firefighter, uh, specifically at, uh, McMurdo Station, uh, which is the largest US research compound, uh, near the South Pole. Um, so wow, mark. Let's jump in right there with that. If you had to briefly sum up Antarctica. Okay. Uh, for someone who's never been living there, what would you say? How would you say that?
Mark Driscoll:
Uh, we're starting with the hard hitting questions. I wouldn't have to say that. It is. Antarctica is absolutely beautiful, but there are a lot of misconceptions. Of course, it's cold, but the first misconception that I encountered is. Um, you know, I'm just thinking cold. It's also a desert. It's also, uh, because of the lack of precipitation, it's also a very dry environment. So, um, I actually had colleagues that had to run four humidifiers in their room all of the time in order to keep enough humidity going so their skin didn't dry out. So first thing I would say is it's dry. It's the highest windiest, driest continent that there is, and the coldest continent that there is. So if I, if I put it in those terms. I'm sure all of the preconceived notions kind of match what people think about. Um, one of the things that really got to me was the lack of wildlife.
Of course, you know, the interesting BlueWind are down there, but there's only three types of wildlife down there. And, um, they actually don't, uh, you know, dogs got us through the exploration to the South Pole, but they don't even allow dogs on the continent anymore. So you've got. One type of bird called acua, which is essentially a, a vicious, vicious, uh, pigeon if you will. I mean, if you imagine you're living in negative temperatures all the time and you're a bird, you're probably pretty mad.
Nathan James:
Yeah.
Mark Driscoll:
You got a couple types of penguins and a couple types of seals, and that's it. It's cold, it's very white. It's very dry. Uh, but the good news is we've got dorms, we've got lodging, and most people stay inside these dorms that are kept 70 to 80 degrees on a regular basis. Oh, and when you're outside, it's just like a snow day. You're having fun.
Nathan James:
Oh, that's fascinating. Okay. Uh, you had experience with hair freezing there? I did. And you've seen my dirt.
Mark Driscoll:
Uh, yeah. And then what things that they, they don't tell you is kind of your rookie hazing is that when you get off the plane and all of your hair starts to freeze, uh, you know, your gut reaction is like, oh, I'm, I'm starting to sweat. I'm gonna go wipe the, uh, wipe my brow, uh, frozen hair breaks when you touch it. So, um, you end up just going like that. Something as simple as we would do every day and your hair starts breaking off and falling off. So that's how they turn to identify who the, uh, who the rookies are on the first time around. Mark, were, did that happen to you? What's that? That happened to you? Uh, fortunately I was a little bit off with my glove, so check you on bit. But, uh, it started to, and then somebody was nice enough to be like, yeah, you might wanna be careful doing that. Yeah, they told me I was able to present myself, but we definitely had some people walking around with without eyebrows for a little bit.
Nathan James:
I know that would be me. Just, I know for a fact that would be me.
Mark Driscoll:
You know what, one of the things that I absolutely loved about being there and um, it's really hard to replicate when you're not in that environment, is just how supportive everyone is. Um, my time down there was during the winter over and during the winter, there are no flights coming or going. There are, unless there's a true emergency. Like we did have a guy. Who had a tib fib fracture and broke his leg and he needed to be taken off the ice emergently in order to get surgery. It took two weeks to get a flight down there, uh, just because of all the weather patterns. So you really don't have things coming in or out. You don't have ships coming in or out, it's just you. And at the time that I was down there, it was 135 other people, a hundred, a hundred thirty six, a hundred thirty five ones he left. So, okay. You really gotta gotta give everyone the benefit of the doubt. If something starts to bug you, it's probably you, not them. Um, you, you really just have to embrace that sense of community. So yeah, you walk around and you see some people without eyebrows and you laugh and you give them a hug, and you welcome to, uh, welcome them to the ice, bring them back to, to the galley and, and let them sit at your table and, uh, you know, start building that comradery right away.
Nathan James:
Yeah. Yeah. No kidding. Let's back up for a minute. How did you tell us the story of what led you to go there, um, in the first place?
Mark Driscoll:
So I was a midlife career change guy. I actually, um, spent nearly two decades working in the IT field and, um, I like to, I have or at least have had what I affectionately call a body build by a desk. I got sick of not being active and not being moving, I guess sick of the sedentary lifestyle. And the best thing that I could think of to combat that was to get into a volunteer role that would lead me. To a more active lifestyle. So I went and I joined my local volunteer fire department. And when I did that, I realized that firefighters are really good at cooking and eating it. It was not the active lifestyle I really thought I was gonna get. Um, so I had to do a little bit more. Um, eventually I just fell in love with the career and the profession and being of service to others, and I decided I, it was stressing me out at the point that I was at. Um, I've really enjoyed designing solutions, but I didn't enjoy the whole push of we're gonna get more into social media and, and this is where we're going to.
It was just headed in an area that didn't interest me as much. So, um, I decided to join the, the fire service and turned that into a career. Um, when you go into the virus service, one of the things that you have to do, other than obtaining all of your certifications upfront, um. I mean, there are some places out there that they'll take you from, from complete rookie all the way up, but you have a much better chance of getting hired if you are a volunteer. You get your certifications, do everything you need to do so that you're a more appealing candidate. Um, but the physical fitness test is actually the thing that has always been kind of my white whale. It's always been the hardest thing for me to achieve. And. When I'm going at that in my thirties, as opposed to a 21-year-old or even an 18-year-old, right outta high school who probably played football, soccer, whatever sports you have going on, it's a little different.
It's hard. It is really hard. So I thought one thing that I could do to set myself aside as a job candidate was to get some experience on my resume. Um, so I started talking to some of my friends and, and one of 'em was like, well, you could always, you know, you've got your aircraft, it's a special, um, certification. Some places call it airport firefighter or some, uh, call it aircraft rescue. Um, "ARF", A-R-F is the acronym.
Nathan James:
That's memorable enough.
Mark Driscoll:
Yeah. And when I, what, and I realized that I had that certification, my friend's like, well, you've got that. You're qualified to go down to Antarctica and live an experience like so few, you already have. And it just stuck with me. It, it was probably another three years after he said that, before I finally applied for the job. Um, in those three years, part of the delay was the fact that my wife and I were growing, our family, we were having children. I. Um, you know, it just wasn't the right time. Part of what just kept Ru ruminating in my mind was that my dad and my mom actually met in New Zealand.
He was United States Air Force, stationed down in New Zealand, okay. Supporting the Antarctic operations. My mom was a civilian working on the military base there, and that's how they met and that's how our family started. They. Of course moved back to the United States. They, they had my brother, they had me. They, and they grew, the family were raised us and all, and that entire time growing up, all I ever heard, uh, well, I shouldn't say all, but a lot of time I would hear from my dad, uh, how much he wanted to go to Antarctica and experience it, how much he had already put towards the effort that had never made it to the ice.
And, um, I'm sitting there looking at this job opportunity and I'm, I'm thinking about. Well, this would be a really cool way to let them live vicariously through me. I can go through there, document the experience, call back home, have conversations, and, um, not only would it be an experience for me that so many other people haven't had, but it would be an experience for them to get access to it like so few other people have had. So, um, I was actually at their house for, for the Christmas holidays and spoke to my wife about it. Covid had had fallen upon us, and, and we were in pandemic lifestyle. And I was talking to her and I'm like, well, you're, you're a stay. I mean, she is a federal government employee, but at that point it was all work from home.
John like, well, this, if we're ever gonna do this, now's the time. She's a saint. God bless her, because, um, you know, we, we have two kids. They're 14 months apart. One was born in twenty eighteen, one was born in 2019, so we're talking 2020. I, I'm putting in a job application to leave for, for a true deployment and she's like, okay, I'll hold down the fort. So I, I can't express my love and admiration and respect for her enough for doing all of that. Um, but I apply, uh, there are people that spend years applying to get to Antarctica and they never make it. It, it's, depending on what your qualifications are, um, you know, it can be a really tough, uh, tough process to undertake. I ended up applying on December 27th, I believe, if my ti, if my timelines were at, they called me on like December 29th to set up an interview. We set up an interview and, uh, for January 4th, I believe. Yeah. And then I onboarded on January 9th. I had a huge medical clearance process to go through. You have to onboard and, and get a contract, whether it's a, um, a primary or an alternate that gets you access to their funding to get you medically cleared.
128 pages worth of medical documentation that I ended up having to submit. Um. I was go, I was just running doctor to doctor, specialist, cardiologist, um, psychiatrist, uh, you're going down there in the winter. So applied December 27th and I deployed on February 14th, Valentine's Day. I had to kiss my wife goodbye.
Nathan James:
Are you kidding? You were on Zoom? Ah.
Mark Driscoll:
So that's like a two month period where for many it could be years, not even like, more like six weeks. And then you've gotta include like packing, figuring out exactly what you're gonna think for tempera career conditions. Sure. Um, it, it was, it was a whirlwind of a process. We really didn't have time to process.
Nathan James:
I mean, you're preparing to go, right? And then also your wife's preparing to hold things down, right? For Yeah. End up being close to eight months. Shout out what, what's her name?
Mark Driscoll:
Beth.
Nathan James:
Beth. Beth, shout out to you. Shout out to you. That's a superhero right there. I know she has her cape flying behind her.
That's a no. That's really great. That's really great. Oh, so alright, so you get to Antarctica, you're there for nearly eight months and ultimately you're also pursuing college there, right? I know. To were able to take 黑料社区 classes while actually being there. What was that like?
Mark Driscoll:
Honestly, phenomenal. Um, so I get down there and, and my wife and I had been talking about me finishing up my degree for a good long while. She's got her master's degree. She took more of the traditional sta uh, pathway of, after high school, went straight to a four year college, got some work experience, went back and, and for her master's finished, turned off and she knew how important it was to me to, to at least complete my bachelor's. I graduated high school in 2000, and after that I, I took a few years off.
I moved to the DC area from South Carolina, uh, in 2003 to start my, my bachelor's degree. So I, I started in fall of 2003. I graduated fall of 2023. It was a 20 year process for me. Shortly after that, I started seeing all of my high school classmates graduating. And at that point I'm thinking, well, am I really moving forward with my life? Am I making progress? And, um, in retrospect with 20 years behind us now, uh, I'm, I really think that that triggered a lot of depression issues that I've dealt with in my adult life. So my wife being, uh, you know, the, the great mentality that she is, me knowing how important it was, we had always thought that pursuing and completing that degree. That would be something very important and meaningful to me. I end up getting down to Antarctica and they say, well, the sun's gonna set, you know, in a couple of weeks and it's not gonna come back. And they start talking to me about this thing called Polar T three syndrome. And what happens is it if impacts your thyroid hormones and it really just messes with your mind in a way that, that I don't know how to accurately explain.
Like it kind of makes you like a walking zombie going around. And the best way to combat that and actually stay, uh, for lack of better terms, a person that people wanna be around is to stay mentally engaged. Otherwise, you're just crabby and cranky. And, uh, one of the things that I like to say about being in Antarctica is, uh, I talked about that sense of community earlier, and if you're in the galley going through the line and somebody comes in and like cuts you off because they want to get to whatever is is next to you, I.
Nathan James:
Yeah.
Mark Driscoll:
You don't have that same reaction you would have if you're out at, at the buffet here in the States. You just laugh and realize that they're having a pretty rough mental day if they're acting like that, and you just kinda laugh it off and be like, happy t three day and, and just keep going. Um. So they're telling me about how all of this is unfolding. And what I end up doing is I think, well, you know, what? If the best way to combat this is to keep my mind engaged, let's, let's fire up those classes again. Let's start taking 'em. I haven't been a lot of research on my end because, um, I had already been affiliated with UMGC. I had taken classes and I, I knew the process. I liked the university, I liked the school and I liked my options, but we had. I'm not gonna ask your age, but do you remember DSL Internet?
Nathan James:
Yes. Yes. DSL. I'm old enough to remember that.
Mark Driscoll:
High speed internet, you know, it still came in on a phone line and it was really, um, while it was high speed, it was still pretty slow. And at the time that I was down there, they've improved it since then. But at the time that I was down there, we had that 135 people sharing the equivalent of DSL based vault.
Nathan James:
That's tricky.
Mark Driscoll:
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Um. Uh, some of the things that I tried to do, uh, for example, I tried to get prior learning credit by taking KLE exams. Something I highly recommend to people if they've got the experience and, and they've got the methods to do it, uh, take the exam. I could not establish a connection with the remote proctors to be able to take the exam.
Nathan James:
Okay.
Mark Driscoll:
On the flip side, if I'm taking a 黑料社区 class and I have that one-on-one interaction with the instructor. They have a lot of freedom and leeway to be able to work with you as long as all of the deadlines, or at least as long as the final deadline is met. Sure. That's one of the things I appreciated so much with UMGC is just the fact that their instructors, uh, at least the overwhelming majority that I encountered, um, they worked with you. It, it was, I, I sent a, a message to one of my public safety admin instructors and said, Hey. If I'm down here, this is my situation, it's the first day of class. Let me know if this is gonna be a problem. And he sent back an email. Kind of laughing at the situation and, and saying, Hey, you're the first person I've ever had that's had this, this situation. He maintained a map on his wall of the locations of where his students were so that he could put pins in the areas that he teaches in. And I thought that was, he's like, you're my first pin in a and r. He's like, no, we will make sure that you get through whatever you need to get through. Good. Um, if the wind blows in the wrong direction, it knocks out your internet.
Uh, you know, uh, I'll understand and I'll give you a few days. The, the only thing that I can say is try and work ahead so that the, the end all be all is that last day of class. If things aren't in by that deadline, then I don't have any recourse given to me by the school because we have to have grades posted in a certain amount of time. So, work ahead. Try and get that. Taken care of and, and we'll work with you. So how did I, uh, get back into this, like, going full circle with this story is, um, I knew that I wanted to address depression issues that I was already feeling by completing my bachelor's. And they told me that my, my mind was about to go off the charts with T three syndrome and I needed to stay mentally engaged.
I actually, uh, all of the firefighters in the winter down there have to volunteer to take over dispatch ships. So I volunteered to, uh, everyone that's not a firefighter, they work Monday through Saturday and their only day off is Sunday. So I chose my dispatch shift and volunteered for the shift when everybody else was gonna be at the bar.
And that way I knew they weren't using the internet. 'cause if they were over at the bar and having a good time, the last thing they wanna do is be on their computer.
Nathan James:
Well played.
Mark Driscoll:
Yeah, I chose that shift brilliant when they were doing that and no work was getting done. So I knew that very few people were actually going to call in and request my services. At the same time, I had full access to the internet and it was an overnight shift, but I mean, 24 7 darkness, aren't they all? So I mean, it, it was technically like the midnight shift, but, uh, it, it allowed me the time that I needed to. To stay on the computer, do the research that I needed to do, get through it. It just took some, some thinking and some planning up had and some communication with the instructors and, and meant can't give enough credit to them for being able to not only get excited about the opportunity of teaching somebody so remote, but uh, for being willing to not see it as a problem and see it as a fun challenge to overcome.
Nathan James:
Yeah. Did you finish your degree while you were there?
Mark Driscoll:
I made substantial progress. I still had a decent amount to complete after that, and I, I completed my degree once I got back. I, I was very fortunate once you survive the full deployment down there, yeah. And you know, you, you come away with a pretty glowing, um, employee evaluation. You've got job opportunities opening up for you all around the country, all around the world. Yeah, I had people, I actually was a couple weeks away from signing the contract to go to Romania and I had a fire chief in Philadelphia reach out to me and say, we would love to have you be a part of, of our team. Here's the packers that we offer. And it allowed me to stay at home with my family, so I'm not deploying overseas again. Um, the greatest thing about that job was that they offered 100% college tuition. So from the second day of employment, they, uh, they would pay a hundred percent up to two bachelor's, two masters, two doctorates.
And I'm like, once the finances are taken care of, then it's a no brainer. I'm just going to pedal to the floor, full throttle. I'm gonna make this happen. So, um, I came back from Antarctica in 2021, but I graduated December, 2023. Thankfully. Through the help of a lot of other resources that were available to me, I don't think college is something that anyone can do on their own. You've gotta rely on the resources and uh, every opportunity that's available to you.
Nathan James:
No kidding. I mean, you showed determination, uh, creativity and being able to do classes on the run in Antarctica and ends up helping you along the way just from a mental health perspective. Um, you end up finishing your degree at with a double major, I believe, I think it was psychology. Yeah. Public Safety Administration. Correct?
Mark Driscoll:
Yeah. Public Safety Administration. I started, so I, when I started in 2003, I started as a psychology major and, when I went back to college, I think it was 2015, I started taking like here or there classes with UMGC and I'd switched to public safety administration because now I was in the career that I knew I was gonna be in for the rest of my life. But I already had enough credits. Why not do the, uh, the psychology minor? And then once I fell into the position that I was in, I'm like, why am I just gonna stop at a minor like another, I think it was like another three classes that I needed. Based on the credits that I already had, I could double major it. So I extended by one semester. Then I showed up with a dual bachelor of Science with Psychology and Public Safety Administration.
Nathan James:
Incredible. And you end up going from, uh, you know, let's look at your previous career path, right in it, right. Kinda hitting your head up, up against the wall there. And what I love is that through, uh. Getting this degree and persevering through those elements, right? Just studying in Antarctica and everything else that you had to do, even as a, as a father, right? And a husband. Um, uh, you navigate through this. To, uh, to, to you navigate through all of that, right? To get to the, uh, a job that you're passionate about, right.
To get to a field, right. That you're like, okay, I'm finding my stride here. Right. Um, I love that. I just wanted, wanted to emphasize that the tools that you picked up along the way are. Uh, super valuable as well, like the stress class that you took, but also managing your mental health. Right, right. Through it all and, and doing that and being able to use school as a way to help manage it. From there, if you can, could you take me in, could you take us into a little bit more of what that struggle looked like? And I know you've talked a good deal about your journey with sobriety as well. Um, mark, and I'd imagine those two are linked. So, um, could you talk about that?
Mark Driscoll:
That's, well, as I just explained it, or the 20 year process from start to finish? Yeah. So, uh, it, it's hard for me to figure out the exact deep dive angle. It's almost like anytime somebody asks me this question, it's a brand new answer because I'm just thinking it through. Every time I go through there, but, but you're absolutely right. So, um, 2015, I, I did realize that, uh, it was probably better for me to step aside from any types of drugs or alcohol. So I've been completely clean and sober since 9 11 20 15. And, um, in that time, um, my, my wife and I have managed to not only have a successful marriage, but, uh, welcome two kids into the world, buy our first house. Um, I've started my own business as well. I have a training company where I teach people how to save cats and dogs.
Uh, not, not like. Rescue, uh, I teach PET first aid and CPR classes and I train firefighters and all that, how to physically save the animals. Um, and that's pretty awesome. Um, but, but yeah, I talked earlier about the depression, that, that came along with watching every single one of my friends that focused on education, I would watch them graduate and move ahead and do different things.
Nathan James:
Wow.
Mark Driscoll:
Med school, law school, um, but you know. Whatever they chose to do, they moved forward and made progress and I felt like I just always stayed stagnant even though I was killing it in my IT career. Um, I was in such a great place there. I. But I wasn't happy with what I was doing. I, I wasn't enjoying life. I wasn't feeling fulfilled with it. Once again, I gotta give all sorts of credit to my wife for not just throwing the, throwing in the towel and saying, you know, I deserve better than this. She knew what I was capable of, and she, uh, saw that I was willing to work on it and therefore, uh, you know, help helped me through the process and watched me as I grow, uh, grew. Um, I, I did go to a rehab program. I came out of it. I stayed very heavily involved in the recovery communities for a couple of years. It was one of those long-term strategical things for me. I knew that if I stayed involved in formal programs and I had all of those drug and alcohol screenings coming up negative on the record, then there was no way a fire chief in the future could look at my job application and say, well, you're an unknown risk.
Why would we do this? Like, no, no, no. Here's my papers. I'm. I'm not a risk and, and, uh, it, it was just one of those things that I had to do to, to set myself up for success. The struggle is something that, that I'm very proud to have overcome, and it's also something that I'm very proud to. I talked about, like for the couple of years after that, I stayed in these formal programs and I was very active. I don't go to as many meetings as maybe I should now, but I still do a lot of peer advocacy and when I see people struggling, I, I step up and offer myself. Uh, just as recently as the last couple of weeks, I encountered somebody who is, is really struggling with, with his own personal identity in terms of whether or not he has a problem and I'm able to.
Not push myself, push my experience on him, but say, Hey, this is what I've been through. If I can help you, let me know. And normally that is incredibly well received and they say, Hey, yeah, let's talk. They.
Nathan James:
Yeah.
Mark Driscoll:
Whether or not it, it, it, the message gets through and they're ready to change, that's on them. Right. But, um, I'm, I'm able to make myself available for a lot of people and, and to be perfectly honest, it, it's also a very selfish thing to do because every time I go through that with somebody else, I'm reliving my own early days. And that's, that's a reminder of why I am where I am.
Nathan James:
Hmm. You know, in our audience, I'm sure there are folks who are struggling, right? Uh, in this exact area, right? Whether it be with sobriety, uh, mental health against depression, right? We aren't. Mm-hmm. There's a lot going on. So, one thing I love about your story that's a good takeaway is you didn't stay stagnant. Oh, I'm just gonna continue doing what I've always done, stay in the same job, you know, not get help, not rely on a support structure. Um. But what would you say, uh, to our audience who's listening, anyone's struggling, right? With, uh, maybe finding unhealthy coping mechanism mechanisms, uh, to deal with, you know, those bad feelings, those tough feelings?
Mark Driscoll:
Oh, the one line answer that's, that's nearly impossible, uh, for a one size fits all. But what I would say is if you are questioning things for your, for yourself, and you're wondering if drugs or alcohol have become a problem for you. Uh, give sobriety a try. Like if you try it for 30 days and realize, Hey, this isn't for you, you've lost nothing. You've, you've literally lost and you've probably gained a decent amount of money. You're not spending it on those substances, but more so than just the drugs and alcohol, just mental health in general. Um, there are so many things that, that it's proven scientifically we cannot recover from and we can't get better from, unless we're. Seeking professional help. People don't think about the facts, uh, of what PTSD will do to them, but you don't have to be in a war zone to accrue and develop PTSD. You can just be living your life day after day and when those stressors build up.
I talked about that psychology of class stress and what the, the number one thing. The first thing that I learned about that is the definition of stress being anything that your body is not used to. In such a regular manner that it's going to just muscle memory respond to it, that's a stressor on your body that triggers the, uh, flight or fight mechanisms and that releases the hormones in your body. And it takes a substantial amount of time and process in your body to be able to release that. So, you know, you say you get your paycheck, you pay all of your bills, and you look and you're like, wow, I really don't have much left. That's a stressor that's gonna stay with you through that entire time until your next paycheck.
And then it's probably wash wrench, repeat, right? You're probably just going through that same thing. So it, it's a struggle to find mental health services in some, uh, some areas and in some locations. But I really encourage people to look into counseling services because there are treatments available to them and.
I'm living proof that they worked. Actually, one of the really funny things about Antarctica is that when I did have kind of a hard time adjusting from not being with my family, they had had a new program that was being offered there on the ice. At that time, you could go over, they had a couple of.
Computers on base that were set up specifically for medical needs and they had designated bandwidth to them. So you could go to one of those computers and set up a time to meet with a counselor in Christchurch, New Zealand. Best counselor I have ever experienced in my life. Like, oh, that's wonderful. It was like I was trying to hide behind a wall and it was just plate glass and she could see right through it.
Um, so. If it doesn't work the first time, try different things. Try different people, try different experiences and stick with it. That that's the answer. That's the the three word answer for every word. Yeah. Seeking help is stick with it until you find what works for you. Very long-winded. Three word answer.
I'm sorry for that, but
Nathan James:
No, that needed to be heard by somebody. I can guarantee you that you're probably right. Yeah. You. Talked about this a little bit earlier, about the, the comparison trap is what I'm gonna describe it, right? Yeah. I, I think that, I'm sure to some degree did not help. The mental health did not help the depression where you were comparing yourself to friends who, in a way went to school, did their careers right, and you felt like you were falling further and further behind, right.
And right. Um. Could you, now that you've come this far, I mean, look at your career arc at this point and seeing your unique journey, and given that, that's so relatable, right? I mean, I can definitely relate to feeling like I've fallen behind the curb. Looking back on your journey now, what would you say to yourself at that time when you were at your lowest, comparing to yourself to to friends, that seemed like they were miles ahead.
Mark Driscoll:
You know, I don't know that I need to figure out what I would say to myself because I had this conversation with one of my good friends early on and, um, him, so he had just graduated recently from Texas a and m and a bunch of their friends had enlisted or, or, um, I don't think it's enlisted when you're going through the officer process in the military. I think it's called something else, but they had, they had joined the military. They had gone to Officer Candidate School and they were all living in DC so I had a very close knit group of friends right there. And I'm comparing myself to all of these people around me, and one day I am just really feeling down and he notices it and he's like, I. Uh, mark, what are you talking about? You are, you might not have the college degree, but they can't talk to girls and they, they have other DACs, like they, we were sitting in a rooftop bar and they're leaning over the roof. She at like doing bird noise. Girl, God, I trying to get people to attention chairs and just juvenile shenanigans and he is like, you're kidding. Like you've got such a successful career. You're successful in all of these other things. And it's an unfair comparison because you're comparing that one metric towards something that is a sum total of all of the different parts of their lives. And it was a very good eyeopening, you know, wake up moment for me.
Like you're absolutely right. Like I have so many other things going for me. That I need to keep that in perspective, ev everyone's gonna fall into that trap, especially, um, that we were talking about social media, uh, earlier, and one of my favorite sayings is all you're looking at is someone's highlights schpiel. They're not, they're not posting all of the bad things that happened to them. And, and that's something I actually do try and do is I try and be like, this is what I'm really struggling with and I'm not looking for, for sympathy, empathy, whatever, but somebody else out there needs to see that people are struggling. So. Here's what I'm struggling with. Here's how I'm trying to approach it. So what I would recommend people keep in mind is look at the big picture, look at everything, and don't just focus on, on the one specific detail. Uh, because at the end of the day, all of us are just trying to, to wake up and make it through, to make it to the next day and, and repeat the cycle, you know?
We're trying to break certain cycles that are unhealthy so that we can repeat the ones that are healthy and, and be proud of ourselves and hang our head high in the end.
Nathan James:
Everyone's journey is unique, right? I think we say this, we have that in our head. Um, but that needs to be like in our hearts. Everyone's journey is unique. The comparison trap is not worth it. And so everyone out there, you're on that beautiful journey and I hope you gain inspiration from, from Mark's story. 'cause it's the perfect example, right? Of someone who's struggled with that, uh, that, that comparison tendency and the mental health struggles that can come with that or be related to that. And just look at, you know, the, the life you know that you've lived, the accomplishments that you've completed on your own time. In your own way with your family at the first front and front and foremost. Um, and, uh, with help not doing it by yourself, right? I mean, I think that's a big, you can pull up yourself up by your own bootstraps.
That's a, that's something a lot of folks subscribe to. I feel like, especially some of the guys, you know, we want to not go to counseling, not go to therapy, maybe sometimes, and because we want to try to do it and must our way through it. Um, but if you got help. You know, use it, um, and, uh, you know, be encouraged, right? That, uh, though our paths don't look the same, they each tell their own beautiful story. Uh, mark, just like yours, right? Does sum summarize a lot of what you said? Okay.
Mark Driscoll:
Absolutely. And one thing that you just made me realize is that some, uh, uh, we had a lot of help through my wife's family. Her and my in-laws had been a tremendous amount of support, and I definitely need to take one moment and just say thank you to them as well as to my wife. So thank you to all the family members that had been out there supporting us along the way. 'cause as you said, we can't do it without you.
Nathan James:
Everybody. Mark Driscoll. Mark, thank you for being on, uh, with us today. Um, it's been a, a pleasure. Um, and, uh, folks, thank you for listening. Uh, thank you for viewing this. I hope you're doing well. Um, keep up the good, uh, keep up the good work out there. Keep up the, uh, uh, just keep on keeping on, uh, just like Mark is doing right, one foot in front of the other. Um, and, uh, if you want to see more unstoppable stories. Um, make sure you like and make sure you subscribe. Um, and we'll be here. Okay? Alright. Thanks everybody. See you next time.