Veterans in the Park

Charles Chou

Veterans in the Park is a documentary-style interview podcast from VeteranDegrees.com, hosted by Charles, a Marine Corps veteran. Each episode features one veteran sharing an honest story about life after military service—from changing careers and returning to school to rebuilding identity, finding purpose, and navigating the lessons no transition handbook can teach. Inspired by the feeling of two people talking on a park bench, the show is calm, candid, and peer-to-peer. Guests come from different service backgrounds, career paths, and stages of transition, but every conversation focuses on practical experience and the human side of starting a new chapter. Whether you are preparing to leave the military, building your first civilian career, going back to school, or planning a second act after retirement, Veterans in the Park offers perspective, encouragement, and stories you can relate to.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    "Service Members, We Don't Stop": A West Point Grad and Army MP on Transition, Purpose, and Building Arzaga Media

    Eric Arzaga is a West Point graduate, a former Army military police officer, and the founder of Arzaga Media. He calls himself the guy from the farmlands of the Philippines who never imagined where the Army would take him. Long before he believed it himself, a JROTC instructor, a West Point graduate, saw a leader in him. In the Army, Eric helped run a confinement facility at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, worked in combat support and law enforcement, and later led trainees through basic training at Fort Leonard Wood. The lesson he took from all of it is transformational leadership. Leaders are made, not born, and once you have transformed yourself you can teach others to do the same. He is direct about leaving. The military is a chapter, and every contract ends. For Eric, the uniform eventually limited the way he wanted to serve people. His transition was smoother, not easier, because he went looking. He flew from rural Missouri to a job fair near Seattle and Tacoma, walked into a room with more recruiters than applicants, and realized he was the buyer. "It's not about lacking resources," he says. "It's about being resourceful." Arzaga Media started at basic training. During COVID, families couldn't see their trainees, so Eric began filming videos to keep parents connected. That turned into recruiting videos for the schoolhouse and later a company that helps established businesses tell their story online. His practical advice: build your LinkedIn presence the day you join, not 180 days before you get out. Message the person who makes the hiring decision directly. Keep working out, because motivation follows fitness. If you want to start a business, test the idea while you still have a job and formalize it once someone is willing to pay. Host Charles, a Marine Corps veteran, asks the questions many service members are carrying. Eric's answer to most of them is to stay uncomfortable, keep growing, and don't stop.

  2. Oct 9

    "Gradually Rip the Band-Aid Off": An Air Force Cyber Officer on SkillBridge, Tech Interviews, and Today's Job Market

    Benjamin Fiesel spent about five years as an Air Force cyberspace operations officer, working in software development, Department of Defense acquisitions, and cybersecurity risk and compliance. He separated as a captain, completed a Hiring Our Heroes SkillBridge fellowship hosted at Google in New York City, and now works at Scale AI. He calls the move relatively smooth — and still full of unknowns. The through-line of the conversation is planning. His biggest lesson from the Air Force is to map a five- to ten-year outlook on the day you join: what you want to achieve while serving, and what comes after. He explains why he left when he did — as an officer, the hands-on technical work he cared about was only going to shrink — and what made the transition hard: being the only earner in a military family, a spouse's career interrupted by moves, and a tech job market that had cooled sharply since the post-COVID hiring boom. He is candid that his path was easier than most. A computer science degree and contracting experience transferred directly; a combat-arms background does not. His advice for everyone else: pursue the opportunities inside your branch, including the DoD software factories, and cross-train while you still can. On mistakes, he is direct. The costliest one is waiting too long. Retirees should start two to three years out; anyone on a contract should give themselves at least eighteen months. Competitive civilian roles also demand real preparation — specific stories, a known tech stack, interview practice — and contracting or GS positions can be a useful first step, a way to "gradually rip the band-aid off" before moving to a private company. Host Charles, a Marine Corps veteran, closes on the habit many veterans carry out of uniform: waiting for the next order instead of reaching for the next opportunity. If you have a separation date on the calendar and no plan yet, start here.

    "Gradually Rip the Band-Aid Off": An Air Force Cyber Officer on SkillBridge, Tech Interviews, and Today's Job Market

  3. Sep 30

    "If We Don't Hire That Guy, We're Stupid": From Submarine Engine Room to Chief Accounting Officer

    Shayne Kuhaneck joined the Navy's nuclear power program in 1992 and spent six years as a machinist mate on a fast-attack submarine out of Pearl Harbor. Today he is the chief accounting officer at a software company. Almost none of the distance between those two jobs was planned. He walks through the actual sequence. The six-year mark, where re-enlisting for two more years really meant deciding whether to do twenty. A final year with ten months of it spent at sea. A first civilian job at a trash-burning power plant that looked nothing like the tour he was given on interview day — "something out of a Stephen King novel" — and that he left after two weeks. Then a recruiter's phone call that opened with, "What do you know about cryogenic liquid?" He also covers what nobody told him on the way out: that naval nuclear power school converts to real college credit if you file the paperwork, and that a state education benefit he found by accident is what put him through the University of Connecticut. His message to his younger self is blunt — do your homework, find out every benefit you earned, and use all of them. The episode ends where a lot of transitions stall: how to talk about service in a room full of civilians. Shayne's answer is the story he told a Big Four interviewer about the night his submarine lost propulsion — and what the interviewer said about him on the way out of the building. A conversation between two people who were in at the same time on opposite sides of the pier. Whether you are at a re-enlistment decision, holding a first civilian job that isn't working, or trying to explain what your rate actually meant, this one is worth the twenty minutes.

  4. Aug 11

    From West Point to Microsoft: An Infantry Officer's 4-Year Pivot into AI Product Management

    Join me, Charles, as I sit down with William Wang, a former Army infantry officer, on Veterans in the Park. In this episode, William shares his remarkable journey from military service to becoming a senior product manager at Microsoft. We explore his transition from the 25th Infantry Division to the tech industry, discussing the pivotal role of leadership skills honed in the military. William reveals how operating with minimal guidance and embracing ambiguity prepared him for challenges in AI and product management. He also reflects on his motivations for joining the military and the critical moments that shaped his career path. Tune in to hear how William's military experiences continue to influence his innovative work in technology today.

  5. Jul 14

    From Tanks to Tech: Brian Tien's Transition from the Army to Google

    In this episode of Veteran in the Park, host Charles sits down with Brian Tien, a former Army Armor Officer who successfully transitioned from the military to a civilian career as an Account Strategist at Google. Brian shares his journey from West Point to commanding Abrams tanks at Fort Hood, and opens up about the unexpected cultural challenges of stepping into the civilian corporate world—from adjusting to flexible schedules to navigating casual workplace interactions. Tune in to hear Brian's candid reflections on the importance of networking, why you should leave the military without regrets, and his best advice for service members who are contemplating their own transition to civilian life.

  • 5 Episodes

About

Veterans in the Park is a documentary-style interview podcast from VeteranDegrees.com, hosted by Charles, a Marine Corps veteran. Each episode features one veteran sharing an honest story about life after military service—from changing careers and returning to school to rebuilding identity, finding purpose, and navigating the lessons no transition handbook can teach. Inspired by the feeling of two people talking on a park bench, the show is calm, candid, and peer-to-peer. Guests come from different service backgrounds, career paths, and stages of transition, but every conversation focuses on practical experience and the human side of starting a new chapter. Whether you are preparing to leave the military, building your first civilian career, going back to school, or planning a second act after retirement, Veterans in the Park offers perspective, encouragement, and stories you can relate to.

Information

  • Creator
    Charles Chou
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean