Mike Fairman is a history major, a combat veteran, and mountain climber.
He shared the following:
"I am retired and have had a pretty adventurous life, climbing, wars, raising a family! I have always been a student of history and have done personal research/studies for decades on various historical topics. I choose to get my degree in History to formalize those efforts. My main interest is in archeology and historicity of the Bible, comparing antiquity and scripture and examining civilizations, cultures, other religions that cross through. Two projects I have been working on are, warfare in the bible and the role/significance of music and entertainment throughout history."
"I'm a veteran that lives with PTSD and Bipolar. After a suicide attempt, I returned to climbing big mountains for therapy and recovery, but also to encourage other struggling veterans to reclaim their lives and take on any challenge that comes their way... especially reaching out for help. I climb to bring awareness and honor and remember the names on the flag I am holding [on the photo below], that represent the 8000 veterans we lose to suicide each year."
"My climb of Everest was pretty epic. I actually got stuck up in the "death zone" for 5 days. The one pic is a tribute to my brother, Christopher Fairman, who was a Prof and A. Dean at OSU Moritz that we lost earlier in the year (along with 2 other Chris' that were close friends of mine)."
"I am a 're' abled veteran who has reclaimed his life. This flag bears the names of those we have known and lost to suicide.
Read an article, "Mountain-climbing veteran studying history, promoting mental health," about Mike on the College of Arts and Sciences website.