Daniel Reichwein

Daniel Reichwein
  • Class of 2015
  • Major(s): Public Policy & Business
  • Archived Blogger

About Daniel Reichwein

I was a 29 year old, non-traditional student who served in the military.

I have endured several life experiences that most students will never know.

Due to a hereditary illness and lack of support, I became homeless for nearly three years – dropping out of university, being discharged from the U.S. Army, and entering financial ruin along the way. Eventually, I received the proper medical treatment and met a social worker at a homeless support organization. She personally vouched for me so I could get a job despite my past record and helped me enroll at a community college. A co-worker at this new job who became my best friend discovered I was homeless and gave me a place to live. I finished my associate’s degree in a year while working 32 hours/week, graduating with a 3.94 GPA and various honors.

Prior to this experience, I never truly knew what I wanted to do with my life, but these simple acts of kindness gave me a path in life. I decided I wanted to do something that would make a difference and help the destitute regain their lives as I regained mine. And so I chose to study business in order to learn how professionals manage and operate organizations with the eventual goal of managing or creating a non-profit organization that helps get homeless people off the street. I transferred to the College of William & Mary in January 2013 and was confident I would gain the knowledge, skills and help from William & Mary’s amazing faculty that I needed to fulfill my dream.

Posts by Daniel Reichwein

What Moves Me to Move Others

The following is a transcript of a monologue I prepared for a recent campus event called Movements during which select W&M students shared their personal

Veterans Writing Group: Similar Decisions, Different Circumstances

The following is my latest short writing from the Veterans Writing Group meeting held at William & Mary today. Read more about the Veterans

The Miracle of My Kindness

The following is what I wrote for a magazine who heard of my story and requested a small, self-written feature.  I wove my macro-level story

Rituals in Military Service

The haircut – a high and tight fade with a #1 on the sides and #5 on the top slightly graded for bangs in

Past Failure Drives Future Excellence

Imagine you are a gatekeeper of opportunity, whether that be a manager of some kind, an administrator who decides which applicants attend your program

Veterans Writing Group

The Center for Veterans Engagement hosted their first veterans writing group meeting this weekend. The following is my writings from one of the composition

DC Summer Institute On Leadership & Community Engagement Comes To An End

This will be my final post about the DC Summer Institute on Leadership & Community Engagement.  It’s been an invaluable summer in Washington DC. 

Leadership: What I Learned During the DC Summer Institute on Leadership, Part 3

Closing Interview Comments Mike said people working in nonprofit need to be very connected to and committed to the mission of their organization –

Leadership: What I Learned During the DC Summer Institute on Leadership, Part 2

Interviews Mike Curtain was an obvious choice. He is the CEO of one of DC’s most recognized and successful non-profit organizations, which employs over