Air Force veteran Shawn Larson comes back home to North Dakota and finds a place at the Center for Rural Health.
Shawn Larson’s time in the military taught him a great deal about the world, other cultures, and himself. While the experiences he had in the Air Force were extremely valuable, Larson knew a lifelong military career wasn’t his calling. So when he saw an ad for a job at the Center for Rural Health (CRH) at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences, and after meeting with CRH staff, he knew he had found his place.
Originally from Rolla, N.D., Larson’s family moved to Devils Lake, N.D., after he finished fourth grade. As a junior in high school, Larson decided on a military career.
Larson began serving his country in August 2000. Initially, he wanted to fly jets, but that’s not the path he took. “I went in to do what was called ‘crew chief.’ That really caught my attention because ‘chief’ was in the title,” he said with a smile.
The 18-year-old soon found he’d have to work his way up to being worthy of title. Essentially he did general aircraft maintenance on the C-130 line of military transport aircraft in a training squadron in Little Rock, Ark.
Being from North Dakota, Shawn had noted on his application’s “dream sheet” that he wanted to be stationed in Minot or Grand Forks. But after he was stationed in Arkansas he found out that a computer error had wiped his “dream sheet” clear. At that point he was already assigned to Arkansas and nothing could be done. He was based in Little Rock his entire military career.
Larson worked on C-130s and climbed his way up the ranks. He eventually reached the point in his career where he was flying with his wing commander. Larson was the dedicated crew chief, basically meaning “that aircraft was my baby. When [my wing commander] would fly, I would fly with him,” Larson said.
Since Larson was part of a training squadron, his flights mainly involved training air crew and flying for hours around the state. Then they’d land, and Larson would make repairs on the aircraft. Larson also flew along to air shows on occasion, taking care of the plane.
Larson served overseas as well. He had two six-month deployments in Iraq and spent a couple of weeks in Qatar. Though it was hot, Larson realized he was living an amazing experience, though he did miss the amenities of home. Because other countries’ militaries were based in the same area, Larson had the opportunity to work with people from Italy, France, and Great Britain.
“It was really fun working with the British in particular, because I was able to solve some of their problems,” he said.
Although Larson was named Crew Chief of the Year in his squadron shortly before his decommissioning, he knew a lifelong military career wasn’t the right path for him. Previously promoted to staff sergeant, Larson made tech sergeant right before he left the Air Force in July 2012.
Larson finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in communication at UND in August 2016. He was working as an operations specialist with a credit union when he saw an opening for a project coordinator at the CRH. He said he immediately clicked with staff and felt comfortable.
Among his responsibilities as project coordinator, Larson supports the day-to-day operations for several projects, including Scrubs, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Rural Health grants, Dakota Conference, the Community Health Needs Assessments, and National Rural Health Day.
Larson said he’s enjoyed the projects he’s worked on, and he understands how the various projects help rural communities. He said he loves being part of the process to help rural communities, reaching out to them with a message designed to meet their needs while also cultivating relationships.
“I grew up in a rural area, and that, to me, was a big thing,” he said.
He also enjoys traveling across the state. Larson recently attended the Carrington, N.D., Scrubs Camp.
Many of the skills he honed in the military have led to success at the CRH. From Arkansas to Iraq, Larson gained experience dealing with a variety of situations and personalities. “You learn how to tailor your message to the individual,” he said.
Larson also wants to do work that is important. While he served his country in the military, Larson also feels that he is serving rural communities in North Dakota with the CRH.
He also loves that he’s encouraged to come up with new ideas to continually make the programs better. He said he looks forward to work every day and being around so many positive role models at the CRH who are passionate about what they do.