Please Help Cadet Bland "Aim High"
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Hello. My name is Christian Conway, and I would be honored if you could spare a few minutes to read this story about my friend, Sean.
I met Sean Bland on my first day as a freshman at Yale College last August. Sean, or Cadet Bland as I like to call him, was attending Yale (through a ROTC scholarship) to fulfill his lifelong dream of serving our country in the United States Air Force. He is a Mississippi native, a black-belt in Taekwondo, a devout Presbyterian, and a gentleman of the caliber that has become increasingly uncommon. It was all uphill from there, and in just a few days’ time I realized that I had found a brother for not only the next four years but for the rest of my life.
Last year, Sean's mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Over the course of the past summer, Sean has undergone an intense battery of testing in order to ensure that he has no risk markers for the disease. He was found to be in excellent health.
Just yesterday, a mere 24 hours before the start of our sophomore year, Sean received a devastating phone call informing him that he had been disqualified from the Air Force ROTC. The disqualification had nothing to do with his scholastic performance or his ability in ROTC (he has excelled in all fields). It was based solely on the result of a specific type of blood test (not required by the Air Force) that he underwent this past summer. The test revealed that Sean, unbeknownst to him, has a blood coagulation disorder and ADD*. He has never experienced any symptoms, nor has this affected his accomplishments in any way.
Believing in the ROTC Code of Honor and unwilling to compromise his integrity as a cadet, Sean immediately turned over the results of all tests to his superiors, who responded with this decision. As if the pain of losing his lifelong dream to join the Air Force wasn’t enough, my friend must now leave school due to the overwhelming financial cost of attending college without the scholarship he earned.
Unfortunately, there is nothing that I can do to affect the decisions of the U.S. military. I can, however, put forth my best effort to see that my friend has at least enough money to finish his sophomore year. I have faith that a few good people can help make a huge difference, and so I humbly ask for your help.
Thank you.
Above: Cadet Bland and I (Spring 2015)
Above: Cadet Bland riding in a C-130 (Fall 2014)
Above: Cadet Bland leading his High School Veteran's Day ceremony (Fall 2013)
* The ADD diagnosis was deduced indirectly from another genetic marker present in the blood.
I met Sean Bland on my first day as a freshman at Yale College last August. Sean, or Cadet Bland as I like to call him, was attending Yale (through a ROTC scholarship) to fulfill his lifelong dream of serving our country in the United States Air Force. He is a Mississippi native, a black-belt in Taekwondo, a devout Presbyterian, and a gentleman of the caliber that has become increasingly uncommon. It was all uphill from there, and in just a few days’ time I realized that I had found a brother for not only the next four years but for the rest of my life.
Last year, Sean's mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Over the course of the past summer, Sean has undergone an intense battery of testing in order to ensure that he has no risk markers for the disease. He was found to be in excellent health.
Just yesterday, a mere 24 hours before the start of our sophomore year, Sean received a devastating phone call informing him that he had been disqualified from the Air Force ROTC. The disqualification had nothing to do with his scholastic performance or his ability in ROTC (he has excelled in all fields). It was based solely on the result of a specific type of blood test (not required by the Air Force) that he underwent this past summer. The test revealed that Sean, unbeknownst to him, has a blood coagulation disorder and ADD*. He has never experienced any symptoms, nor has this affected his accomplishments in any way.
Believing in the ROTC Code of Honor and unwilling to compromise his integrity as a cadet, Sean immediately turned over the results of all tests to his superiors, who responded with this decision. As if the pain of losing his lifelong dream to join the Air Force wasn’t enough, my friend must now leave school due to the overwhelming financial cost of attending college without the scholarship he earned.
Unfortunately, there is nothing that I can do to affect the decisions of the U.S. military. I can, however, put forth my best effort to see that my friend has at least enough money to finish his sophomore year. I have faith that a few good people can help make a huge difference, and so I humbly ask for your help.
Thank you.
Above: Cadet Bland and I (Spring 2015)Above: Cadet Bland riding in a C-130 (Fall 2014)Above: Cadet Bland leading his High School Veteran's Day ceremony (Fall 2013)* The ADD diagnosis was deduced indirectly from another genetic marker present in the blood.
Organizer and beneficiary
Sean Bland
Organizer
Nanuet, NY
Sean Bland
Beneficiary