As part of the Stellar Student Series at D. H. Hill Library, Major Amie Pflaum spoke on Tuesday about her choice to commit her life to service, her time with the military and how other students can find themselves in helping others. Pflaum is a Tillman Scholar and a student at the College of Veterinary Medicine. The experiences and images she shared were well-received by the audience.
Kris Alpi,* director of the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine introduced the speaker.
“We talk about the fact that it is hard to be in the College of Veterinary Medicine,” Alpi said. “It is hard to get in … but I never had the chance to compare being a first-year vet student to doing things like being a professor of military science, training the next generation of the next military officers or being the commander of the only Black Hawk helicopter unit in Central** America, or being a battle captain and chief of current operations of the Army in Afghanistan. Tonight, we are really lucky because we can ask Amie Pflaum these questions.”
Pflaum earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Wake Forest University in 2006 with minors in international relations and history, while also being honored as a distinguished military graduate from the Army ROTC. More recently, she was recognized by the Pat Tillman Foundation for her leadership strength and academic excellence.
Pflaum spoke about helping build a school in Vietnam, flying a military helicopter in Afghanistan, commanding soldiers in Honduras and studying veterinary medicine in NC State.
“When I graduate in 2020, I hope to continue to serve across the globe, helping to fight the devastating war on hunger,” Pflaum said. “If you do not know yet what you want to commit your life’s work to, I tell you: no rush. I encourage you to consider focusing some of your efforts on service and likely in it, you too will find your passion and purpose in life.”
The time she spent in Afghanistan played a major part in her love for animals, and her choice to study veterinary medicine.
“One of my favorite things to do while I was flying was to look at the animals throughout Afghanistan,” Pflaum said. “I am fascinated with camels, I love them, and everywhere we would go, I would want to take pictures of them. They’re a source of meat. They’re a source of transportation. I was mostly excited when it got really cold … they would put coats on their camels, and when I saw camels in coats, my day was made.”
Pflaum found herself through service, and she recommends that other students do the same. According to her, it is normal for students to change their aspirations and personal dreams through their academic career. Serving others and keeping an open mind are humbling and can help the student find themselves and their purpose in life.
“Hearts and minds are a big part of what we do,” Pflaum said. “I do not know if many of you are familiar with the military, but if you think it is all combat and aggressive offensive action, it is not. It’s really not. So much of it is building relationships, because if you help build a stable region, that’s a win-win for everybody.”
Michael Ozgun, a freshman studying engineering and economics, found the talk to be interesting and inspirational.
“I’m glad I came,” Ozgun said. “I definitely want to get more involved in service in the future. It sounds like she has participated in service in so many different areas and made such a big impact, and that’s something I want to do too.”
This event is one of many events and programs organized by the NCSU Libraries this spring. For more information, please check out the libraries’ calendar on https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/calendar.
**Editor’s Note: This story originally misspelled Kris Alpi’s name and inaccurately identified Central America.
