{"id":23636,"date":"2025-03-06T14:49:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T22:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=23636"},"modified":"2025-03-06T14:49:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T22:49:24","slug":"army-veteran-heads-philosophy-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/army-veteran-heads-philosophy-club\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Army veteran touts the value and appeal of a philosophy degree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Three soliders stand together in uniform holding an army medical corps flag\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Evan Williams, center, served in the U.S. Army before pursuing a philosophy degree at USC Dornsife. (Photos: Courtesy of Evan Williams.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=student\">Student<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>U.S. Army veteran touts the value and appeal of a philosophy degree<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Former military nursing specialist, transfer student and USC Dornsife philosophy major Evan Williams leads the USC Philosophy Club as \u201ca fine president and a formidable philosopher.\u201d\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Greg Hardesty<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">March 6, 2025<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>When he was a junior in high school in his native New Jersey, Evan Williams\u2019 teacher assigned as light reading Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher known as the \u201cFather of Existentialism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis writing blew my mind,\u201d recalls Williams, who at the time was considering joining the military. College, for financial reasons, wasn\u2019t really on the table. He admits that much of Kierkegaard\u2019s writing was tough to understand, but it planted an early seed of interest in philosophy that grew into a love Williams could never shake.<\/p>\n<p>Now, after spending six years in the U.S. Army as a licensed practical nurse (in the military it\u2019s a \u201cpractical nursing specialist\u201d), Williams is in his second semester as a junior transfer student at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, majoring in philosophy.<\/p>\n<h2>Military service to philosophy major<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_23644\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23644\" style=\"width: 320px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-23644\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_instorya-500x416.jpg\" alt=\"Evan Williams wears medical scrubs and gives the thumbs up sign\" width=\"320\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_instorya-500x416.jpg 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_instorya-768x639.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_instorya.jpg 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23644\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Evan Williams was a U.S. Army practical nursing specialist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As a youth, Williams thought firefighting was a cool profession and always had his eyes on becoming a medic or nurse.<\/p>\n<p>He went to basic training out of high school at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla., then was stationed at a base in San Antonio where the Army\u2019s medical command is headquartered. Williams earned his nursing school license in 2019 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.<\/p>\n<p>Practical nursing specialists in the Army provide medical care to soldiers, their families, and civilians in combat, non-combat, and disaster situations.<\/p>\n<p>Williams never saw combat, but in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, he served for three months near the Texas-Mexico border in intensive care and emergency units that were filled with patients on ventilators.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a principal experience of my career,\u201d he says. \u201cI realized that death doesn&#8217;t discriminate based on character; the virtuous are taken with the fallen. It became abundantly clear that a \u2018good life\u2019 was one full of compassion and being ruthlessly hopeful &#8212; not naively hopeful, but ruthlessly hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the Army, Williams wanted to study philosophy, but Penn State\u2019s World Campus, the online campus of Pennsylvania State University where he was enrolled, didn\u2019t offer philosophy as a major. He took political science courses instead.<\/p>\n<p>After considering several universities to transfer to, Williams chose USC Dornsife.<\/p>\n<p>One of the questions on the student application caught his attention: \u201cIf you could have a fictional character as a roommate, who would it be?\u201d Intrigued, he did more research on USC Dornsife and realized the school was for him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seemed like a perfect place to study,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>As for which roommate he would choose, Williams selected Paddington Bear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has an unwaveringly optimistic and kind demeanor,\u201d he explains. \u201cAldous Huxley famously said that he was embarrassed that the end of his lifelong inquiry culminated in a simple but profound prescription: to be more kind. Paddington as a roommate would be a constant reminder that the kindness I put forward is more meaningful than any material success I might garner.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A formidable philosopher and \u201cfine president\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>Just a week after moving to California and starting his studies here, Williams was elected president of the USC Philosophy Club, which meets weekly to discuss seminal works.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_23646\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23646\" style=\"width: 320px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-23646\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_instoryb-500x376.jpg\" alt=\"Evan Williams gives a slide presentation to students gathered around a conference room table\" width=\"320\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_instoryb-500x376.jpg 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_instoryb-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/03\/williams_philosophy_instoryb.jpg 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23646\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Evan Williams presides as president of the USC Philosophy Club<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI figured if I was going to be going here, I should immerse myself in as much of the philosophy department as possible,\u201d Williams says.<\/p>\n<p>So far, he loves it.<\/p>\n<p>Chad Beauchamp, vice president of the club, also interviewed to be president. He admits to being a bit chagrined when Williams got top position but says, \u201cthose feelings proved rather fleeting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beauchamp, a double major in philosophy and history, recalls a long first club meeting in which, despite taking no notes, Williams was able to effortlessly repeat verbatim every discussion point.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn that instant, I understood that I was not the better candidate who lost out to a lesser one,\u201d says Beauchamp. &#8220;I was the lesser candidate bested by the better one.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a fine president and a formidable philosopher. Though he and I disagree on many subjects, Evan always defends his convictions with sincerity and fortitude.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Rising philosophers take on heavy topics<\/h2>\n<p>About 35 students attend weekly Philosophy Club meetings. Williams hopes to attract more outside of the school by making the club an official student association.<\/p>\n<p>Attendees at the club\u2019s first meeting this semester discussed \u201cMan\u2019s Search for Meaning,\u201d psychiatrist Viktor Frankl\u2019s memoir that included descriptions of life in Nazi death camps.<\/p>\n<p>Next up was Cicero, best known as a prominent statesman and orator in the late Roman republic who held that the laws of nature were more important than the laws of men and governments.<\/p>\n<p>A recent meeting tackled works by Derrick Bell, whose \u201cRacial Realism\u201d maintains that racial equality for Black Americans is not a realistic goal.<\/p>\n<h2>A future in philosophy and law<\/h2>\n<p>Williams expects to graduate in spring 2026 and go to law school, and then apply to graduate school and earn a master\u2019s and\/or PhD in the philosophy of law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLegal philosophy,\u201d he explains, \u201cis interested in such questions as, \u2018What is law?\u2019 \u2018How does it work?\u2019 \u2018What has it been historically?\u2019 \u2018How do we make it more effective?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After practicing law, Williams wants to go into academia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpecialties in terms of careers are great, of course, but somebody has to <em>not<\/em> be specialized,\u201d Williams says. \u201cWe can\u2019t have a society of essentially the most talented and equipped tradesmen. Somebody must be a mile wide and an inch deep, and I think philosophy offers this opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re already considering majoring in philosophy,\u201d he adds, \u201cthat\u2019s probably a good enough sign. You should just double down and commit to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williams recommends the major for its academic rigor and focus on critical thinking as well as lessons on using logic and reasoning to analyze questions big and small. Such skills, studies show, can lead to thriving careers in a variety of fields, including law, business, medicine and politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re the kind of person who has really strong intuitions and you hear people talk about college as a pathway to being a skilled professional, but you see life more broadly or you\u2019re always asking yourselves the \u2018Why?\u2019 questions, a philosophy major may be just the thing for you,\u201d Williams says. \u201dIn fact, you may not be satisfied studying anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/is-ai-really-writing-ancient-authors-would-have-said-no\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Is AI really \u2018writing\u2019? From a priestess to philosophers, ancient authors would have said\u00a0\u2018no\u2019<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/im-a-philosopher-who-tries-to-see-the-best-in-others-but-i-know-there-are-limits\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >I\u2019m a philosopher who tries to see the best in others \u2013 but I know there are\u00a0limits<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/4m-templeton-foundation-grant-funds-new-frontier-in-cosmology\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >$4M grant from the John Templeton Foundation funds a new frontier in cosmology<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former military nursing specialist, transfer student and USC Dornsife philosophy major Evan Williams leads the USC Philosophy Club as \u201ca fine president and a formidable philosopher.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":23643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[75,193],"class_list":["post-23636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student","tag-humanities","tag-philosophy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>U.S. Army veteran touts the value and appeal of a philosophy degree<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former military nursing specialist leads USC Philosophy Club, 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