“You 100% could walk up to any one of my volunteers and just sit in awe of their abilities and their past and how they're here. They’re my A-team.” - Kevin Hancock, Academic Center Director
54-year-old Garst Peterson is one of those “A -teamers." Formerly a VP in the tech industry, Garst traded a high-powered, lucrative job in in the Bay Area (with Facebook and Twitter for clients) for the life of a Cottonwood rancher. In celebrating National Volunteer Week, I think of Mission volunteers like him.
Garst, an easy-going, well-grounded young-ish retiree, walks alongside the men at the Dr. Ray John Academic Center in their journey to sobriety. It's a road he's traveled himself as a successful businessman who made a lot of money, and had all the stuff—houses, cars, etc.—but not the “right stuff.”
That all changed after Covid hit.
Garst got out of Silicon Valley and the tech industry—an environment where work-life imbalance, cutthroat competition and mental health issues thrive. Garst's own challenges included a rapidly growing addiction...and the loss of his marriage.
Soon after retiring to Cottonwood, Gast found himself in Pathway Church's Celebrate Recovery group. It was life-changing. There he got sober and connected to his Creator. His faith has been growing ever since—as has his dedication to the men at the Academic Center.
While other Silicon-Valley early retirees are playing golf and waxing their yachts, Garst spends much of his time mentoring men who just a short time ago were where he was at once at...hopelessly addicted and running on empty.
“I’ve absolutely fallen in love with helping these men...to see them get really engaged and watch their life change…some dramatically so," exclaims Garth.
A student name Hal comes to mind. Garst describes him as “very smart and very motivated." Hal, in turn, gives much of the credit for his turnaround to Garst. “I owe him a lot,” says Hal. "If it weren’t for him, I'd have zero optimism about my future. He steered me in the right direction—in more ways than one."
When he's not spending time on his little piece of country heaven," (where he loves letting his 9-year-old roam free over their ten-acres versus being held captive by a phone screen), or working with students, Garst is looking to secure special grants that will give the students the tools they need to be competitive in an rapidly changing economy.
“You really don't need a college degree like you used to," says Garth. "I mean, 90 percent of the world’s information is online. So if you want to learn aspects of science or whatever, you can literally go online and and learn from Yale, Harvard, MIT...wherever and whatever you want. The sky's the limit.”
The only "limit" says Garst is a the limitations a student puts on himself. Finding a path out of homelessness and addiction takes three things,” says Garst. “It takes grit, determination and faith."“And, I would add, the humility to ask for help when you need it. That may be the biggest key.”
Personally, I would add another important "key": dedicated mentors like Garst Peterson, without whom we would have a lot less men breaking free from destructive lifestyles. And we'd all be worse off for it. - Justin Wandro, Director of Development, Good News Rescue Mission