By CLIFF ADAMS
Reporter

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Gregg Ganschaw was on a flight departing from Seattle in 2011 when he overheard a conversation between two severely injured veterans.

They were discussing the challenges they faced in returning home from war. The conversation gave Ganschaw, a U.S. Air Force Veteran and former Fortune 500 company career training coach, an idea to adapt his corporate success curriculum into an asset to assist his fellow veterans.

The University of Central Missouri’s Office of Military and Veteran Services is bringing Ganschaw’s workshop, Return With Purpose, to campus from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, in Room 235 of the Elliott Student Union. The workshop is designed to aid military personnel, past and present, with goal setting and transitional awareness.

Ganschaw said the veterans on the flight asked him if he had served in the U.S. military. Ganschaw informed them that he was in the U.S. Air Force during the late ‘60s and throughout the ‘70s. Ganschaw said one of the men, sitting in a window seat, had lost use of the extremities on his right side of his body.

“I’ll never forget that man reaching his left arm over to lift his right arm in order to shake my hand,” Ganschaw said. “It was so touching. I knew my curriculum would work with veterans, but a lot of work had to be done.”

The work involved adapting his keys of corporate success to the challenges facing veterans retiring or separating from the military. He scripted out a program that has now helped countless veterans achieve career and life goals. In 2013, Ganschaw whittled his curriculum down from three days to a one-day session.

“We primarily visit colleges in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas that are near military facilities,” Ganschaw said. “The results have been very gratifying.”

Those results are what sparked the interest of UCM’s Office of Military and Veteran Services.

Delilah Nichols, Military and Veteran Services Coordinator, said the workshop will help both veterans and UCM’s military students.

“The Office of Military and Veteran Services strives to meet the needs of our military students, faculty and local veterans,” Nichols said. “By providing workshops like (Return) With Purpose, we direct people to their true purpose and help them identify new career paths and opportunities.”

Individuals interested in attending the workshop must register in advance by contacting Ganschaw at Gregg.Ganschaw@ReturnWithPurpose.org or calling 314-520-2046 before Friday, Feb. 19. Individuals will need to provide their name, phone number, military status, UCM student status and email address. Limited seating is available.