Daniel Tomback, M.S. ’13: A Marine Finds a New Way to Serve

By Bonnie Eissner

In four years as a Marine, Daniel Tomback,  M.S. ’13, acquired a lifetime’s worth of experience. First stationed in New Orleans in 2005, he participated in the post-Katrina recovery efforts. In 2006, his unit evacuated American citizens from Lebanon. Later, in Ramadi, Iraq, he was part of the counterinsurgency effort—helping with nation-building and, in Mr. Tomback’s words, “looking for bad guys.”

Mr. Tomback said he enlisted in the Marines because “I was looking for something exciting to do.” He found excitement in spades, but ultimately decided that he was destined for a different career. Shortly after his honorable discharge in 2008, he decided to take advantage of the GI Bill to pursue his master’s degree in childhood special education at Adelphi’s Ruth S. Ammon School of Education.

“I think that in our society we need to have people accepted for who they are and what they bring to the table,” Mr. Tomback said, “and that we need to realize that every child is capable of learning.”

A fraud investigator at the New York City Human Resources Administration, Mr. Tomback continued to work full time while pursuing his master’s degree. Balancing competing demands was a challenge, and he is grateful that Adelphi offered weekend courses. When the course work built up, he said, “I looked back at my time in the military [and] said to myself, ‘If I can handle that, I can do this.’”

Mr. Tomback views teaching special education students as another way to help his country. “People who serve in our military make a huge difference in our world and in our country, and I want to give back to my community by serving in this capacity,” he said.