Psychology student named Sailor of the Year for charitable work

Throughout his 18-year military career, U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Craig Humes has been focused on serving others. And thanks to the convenience of his online degree program at Liberty University, Humes doesn’t have to miss an opportunity to lend a hand while he completes his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and serves his country.

“I always had a passion for helping people, so when I enlisted in the Navy I wanted no other job but to be a hospital corpsman,” Humes said.

He has traveled all over the world, including Japan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain, for overseas deployments while on shore duty as well as tours attached to Marine Corps combat units. He’s also served at the Portsmouth, Va., Naval Medical Center and currently trains U.S. Army soldiers and Navy sailors in preventative medicine and public health at the Navy Medicine Training and Support Center in San Antonio, Texas.

In San Antonio, Humes is involved with the Texas Ramp Project, in which he coordinates teams of service members to build or repair access ramps at homes of people with mobility issues.

“A lot of these individuals are in wheelchairs or use walkers or O2 tanks,” Humes said. “Going up and down stairs is a struggle for them, and we want to help those individuals maneuver in and out of their homes with ease.”

He said he never has a hard time finding volunteers, that helping others and military service go hand-in-hand.

“The military has always made it a tradition to help the community because the community has always been supportive of the military as a whole,” Humes said. “We keep that tradition alive and going and help younger sailors coming in to understand that there are bigger things to do out in the world. Those who support you and believe in you are typically right at your fingertips. That is why I enjoy doing it.”

Recently, Humes was selected as the Navy Times Sailor of the Year. While the award was an acknowledgment of his career dedicated to service, Humes said he shares the accolade with his comrades.

“This award was for the sailors, my family, and my friends who pushed me to do great things; it wasn’t all for me,” he said.

Humes was formally recognized at the annual Military Times Service Members of the Year awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on July 11.

As he looks forward to graduation next May — and plans to celebrate with the Class of 2019 at Commencement — Humes is thankful for his time at Liberty.

“I can’t express enough the support (I’ve received) from the university,” he said. “All the professors I’ve had have opened my eyes to bigger, brighter, more prosperous, and more hopeful perspectives.”

In the future, Humes hopes to use his Liberty education to continue his legacy of giving back by working with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

“It would mean a lot for me to take everything I’ve learned back to veterans,” Humes said. “Those are the service members who paved the way for me, fought alongside of me, and I just want to give back, once again, to those individuals who sacrificed, who put country first.”

Liberty is a proud military supportive institution. Visit Liberty.edu/Military for information on tuition discounts, scholarships, and book vouchers, as well as resources and a community network for military students.