Sam Schoenheit

Staff Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps
Bachelor of Arts History and Education, Lipscomb University

Sam Schoenheit headed to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, SC four days after graduating high school in 2003. Once a Marine, he was invited to an intense screening process from the School of Infantry (SOI) hosted by the Recon Battalion. Forty started, and only eight finished. Upon graduating SOI, he and seven others were given orders to the elite Recon unit. While in the 2 nd Reconnaissance Battalion, Sam served two tours in Iraq. In November 2006, he transferred from 2 nd Recon Bn. to Marine Special Operations Command where he deployed to Afghanistan. On June 26, 2008, while conducting combat operations in Farah providence, Sam was shot in the head, critically wounding him. He was medically evacuated to Bethesda, Maryland’s Naval Medical Center and once stabilized relocated to Richmond, VA where he began the long journey to recovery.

In August 2011, the Marine Corps released Sam to attend college in Nashville, TN and he was medically retired shortly thereafter. While attending Lipscomb University, Sam was accepted to Sentinels of Freedom and provided financial support to assist with living costs over the next four years. He was also introduced to other Sentinels who attended Lipscomb, as well as a mentor team there to guide his educational journey.

Sam graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Education in July 2015. In the following months, he dabbled in vacation real estate and bought his first cabin in Gatlinburg, TN. The next year he bought his second. Then human folly reared its head: Two kids playing with matches plus high winds and dryness caused the Gatlinburg fire of 2016! Sam lost his first cabin; however, a lot of people lost a lot more.

Sam then applied and was accepted to the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) Program in August 2017. He relocated to Fayetteville, AR, and upon completion of a 12-month long internship was officially hired as a Digital Forensics Analyst with Homeland Security Investigations. After 5 years with HSI, Sam decided to return to eastern Tennessee and purchased another house. He knew Arkansas was not an endpoint. Currently, he is working at a local church, and getting to know the area and people. He plans to teach high school history and begin a teaching career.