Sebastian Smith is making less of a career pivot than a total revamp. At age 48, he is getting his B.S., with the goal of earning  a doctorate and becoming a scientific researcher. Just three years ago, he was retiring after a 20-year career in the Air Force. 

Stationed in England with his wife and three kids as he neared retirement, Smith was given the choice of where to finish his service. He’d taken many college classes over the years, but wanted a new path. “I have always been interested in science and loved discovery,” he says. “When I was trying to narrow down my interests, scientific research just clicked for me.” 

Landing on Plant Biology, Smith looked into programs and found that UC Davis topped the list. Academic destination in focus, he relocated to Travis Air Force Base, just 30 minutes from campus. After retiring, he enrolled at Solano Community College to complete the coursework needed to transfer. He is currently a third-year transfer majoring in Plant Biology on campus.  

This isn’t Smith’s first foray into a four-year college. Straight out of high school, he enrolled at Syracuse University. But no one in his family had graduated from college, and not knowing how to do it, he ended up taking on a huge course load while juggling two jobs. After he dropped out, he spent several years managing a Blockbuster video store, where he met his wife. When she got interested in the military, he went to see the recruiters with her, intending to talk her out of it. Instead, he ended up being the one to enlist and became an Air Force cybersecurity specialist. He excelled in the role, but it wasn’t his calling. 

“The military forced me to confront my weaknesses and learn to do things that were uncomfortable, like public speaking,” he says. “I had so many spectacular experiences throughout my career, and I met so many amazing people. But I didn’t necessarily enjoy my professional field.” 

Now, Smith is soaking up the UC Davis experience. Older than most classmates, he’s become a mentor figure. “They appreciate that I’m a veteran. Sometimes, when they might not be comfortable approaching a professor to ask a question, they’ll come and ask me instead. I’ve had more than one professor tell me that it is like having a second teacher in the classroom.”

One highlight is sharing the experience with his kids: his youngest lives with him in student housing while finishing high school online, and his two oldest are following in his footsteps at Solano Community College. “I transferred to UC Davis using the TAG program, and now my oldest son wants to do the same. My kids are just a few semesters behind me, so it’s awesome to share my experience and help them in the process.”