FROM THE BATTLEFIELD TO THE BOOKSHELF – EXPLORING POLICE FICTION – Terry Weaver Jr. Ep. 20
On this episode, Terry Weaver and I discuss his book A Dark Day in Texas. We talk about the Pat Tillman Foundation, his time as a Navy Corpsman, and the role those experiences have played in shaping the police fiction he creates.
Terry grew up in the Mountain View Trailerpark in San Bernardino California, a suburb of Los Angeles. His childhood was tough, so at 16 years old he left home.
At 17, Terry graduated In 1999 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Corpsman. He was deployed as a combat medic with the U.S. Marines and served a tour of duty in Kuwait and Iraq from 2002 to 2003. After five years of active duty, Terry received an honorable discharge.
He attended Mays Business School at Texas A&M and received the Pat Tillman Foundation Scholarship established in the namesake of Army Ranger and NFL star player Pat Tillman
who was killed in action. Terry earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and then spent ten years in various sales and marketing roles.
In 2014, Terry founded VEL INSTITUTE, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit with a mission to “Connect and Develop Veterans, Entrepreneurs, and Leaders through collaborative learning.” In 2017, Terry moved into a full-time role as the executive director of VEL INSTITUTE.
In 2019, Terry was selected as a lead actor in the forthcoming TV series, Breaking Strongholds, being filmed in Montgomery, Texas.
Reach Terry:
https://www.facebook.com/terryweaverofficial/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/terryweaverjr/
Books Discussed:
A Dark Day in Texas by Terry Weaver
The Evolution of a Leader by Terry Weaver
The Television Series Discussed:
https://www.breakingstrongholds.com/
Tom Baker has been a PhD student in UMSL's Criminology and Criminal Justice program since 2017. Tom received his BA in Political Science from Arizona State University and worked as a police officer for approximately nine years. His research interests include police culture, use of force, and qualitative research methods. https://www.umsl.edu/ccj/Graduate%20Students/baker.html