Military veteran Shea Sabolsky ’26 spent about four years with the U.S. Navy in Bahrain and now majors in animal studies at Eckerd College. Photo by Michel Fougères
Shea Sabolsky looks at life a little differently than most Eckerd College students. It has to do with where he’s been and what he’s seen. A junior animal studies student from Millersburg, Pennsylvania, he is one of several Eckerd students and faculty and staff members who are military veterans.
Shea served from 2018 to 2022, separating as petty officer third class. In January, he plans to travel to a decidedly chillier region—northern Minnesota—to study predator ecology at the Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center. His research, part of an independent study program through Eckerd, will focus on wolves, lynx, black bear, and their interactions with other native species.
“I’m glad I went through my time in the Navy,” Shea says. “I have the perspective now that I wouldn’t have gained otherwise.”
Veterans Day—which is celebrated every Nov. 11 with parades, speeches and graveside ceremonies—is a federal holiday that honors those men and women who served in the United States armed forces. This past Veterans Day, Shea’s routine was the same. “I didn’t do anything different than most Mondays,” he says. “I could have stayed home, but I didn’t want to miss out on all four classes.”
He drives to campus each morning from his apartment in St. Petersburg, attends classes and then heads to his part-time job in a shop on Central Avenue. Because he’s 25—about four years older than most other juniors—he’s noticed on campus. “I’ll get questions from students like ‘What are you doing here?’ and ‘Are you a professor?’” he says. “But it’s okay. I don’t spend a lot of time on campus. I think I’ve only been to maybe two or three parties since I got here. But I got that out of my system. Hey, I’ve been there. I was a sailor.”
After high school, Shea enlisted in the Navy and spent nearly four years as an armorer in the Weapons Department of Naval Support Activity Bahrain, located on the Persian Gulf next to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The base is home to the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the United States Fifth Fleet. During his time in the Middle East, Shea got to know people from all over the world and soaked up as much as he could about Islam and the Muslim culture.
But it wasn’t all pleasant. It was not uncommon to learn that another service member at the base had taken their own life. He was also buzzed by an Iranian fighter jet, and flags representing the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Hezbollah were a regular sight. “But I never felt unsafe,” he says.
Shea worked on the island country’s largest pier. Photos from Bahrain courtesy of Shea Sabolsky ’26
At night in Bahrain, it could dip to 60 F, relatively cold compared to daytime temperatures of 100 F.
Shea takes in the view atop “possibly the tallest point in-country.”
What does Veterans Day mean to Shea? “No matter if you agree or disagree with a particular conflict or America’s actions in general, you can do your best to remember and honor all the men and women who gave their lives so that our nation and way of life may continue,” he answers.
“Another aspect is to appreciate the incredibly heroic and sometimes horrific actions veterans, both dead and living, have had to live through. Those who have never been placed in harm’s way cannot comprehend these types of sacrifices.
“I think the easiest recognition to practice is simply being appreciative of the fact somebody gave years of their life to a selfless purpose,” he adds. “Sure, those in the military have their own goals and reasons for joining, but at the end of the day, you’re going to have to follow someone’s orders. Even if you’re a pacifist, I think you can be thankful that someone else was put in that position and not you.
“And even if you’re not very warm and fuzzy about the military, war, conflict or geopolitical affairs, the only reason you’re allowed to have the life you live in the United States is because many people before you gave a part of themselves so that you may sleep soundly in your bed at night.”
