Wayne State University Athletics

Men's Cross Country 7/14/2020 10:00:00 AM Nicole Werling, WSU Sports Information Student Writer

Former Cross Country Runner Neshkoff, Found His Dream Job

DETROIT--Steven Neshkoff, a former Wayne State University's men's cross country runner, joined the Warrior family to complete a master's degree and conclude his collegiate running career.

But his path to Detroit was not the usual route taken by most avid runners.

After graduating from Temperance Bedford High School, and prior to his college journey, Neshkoff served in the Air Force for six years from 2002-2008. His first two years were at Malmstrom Air Force, where he escorted nuclear war heads to and from missile silos. He then transferred to Andrews Air Force Base, where Air Force One is located, in Washington D.C. There he performed what is called 'flight line security' in which he provided security for aircrafts on base.

During this time, Neshkoff joined The Phoenix Raven Program, which included one deployment to Iraq.

He flew to 42 countries in his time there, which included flying with multiple former presidents, former heads of state, and high political figures within the federal government, and many more.

He created a lot of memories, one of his favorites -- accompanying the former First Lady, Laura Bush.

"After they figure out who you fly with and who you are good at working with, they keep you on that mission for a long time. I used to fly with her a lot and she knew me by my first name," Neshkoff stated.

After those six years, Neshkoff decided it was time to get his degree, focus on a different career path and pursue his passion for running.

Neshkoff went off to Ferris State where he received his undergraduate degree in history education and competed for two years (2009 and 2011) on the Bulldog cross country team.

After completing his undergraduate degree at Ferris State University, Neshkoff enrolled at Wayne State as a graduate student. During his time as a Warrior, he was a recipient of the DII ADA Academic Achievement Award in both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years.

He was named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) three times and the Coach's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.0-3.49) his other semester at WSU.

"I did not have the typical college life being the older person on the team," he explained.

After his time at Ferris State, Neshkoff spoke with Matthew Fecht, who he described as one of his best friends. Fecht was an assistant coach at Wayne State under Rick Cummins. After accepting a scholarship with WSU, he completed his years as a student-athlete while obtaining a master's degree in educational administration.

Neshkoff's desire was to work in education. After graduation, he accepted a position with the National Parks Service in Outer Banks, North Carolina, where he worked on education and volunteer work for two-and-a-half years.

"It consisted of managing about 70-100 volunteers a year -- anything from watching, to training, to promotion to advertisement. You name it, I did it," commented Neshkoff.

During his time with the National Parks Service, he joined the military reserves, which was one year after graduating from WSU.

From there, he accepted a position with Veterans Affairs. He transitioned into human resources, and from there, into the education department.

"Because of my master's degree, I was able to land the job I have always wanted," Neshkoff stated.

Working within the education department, Neshkoff does supervisory training, mentor/mentee programs, new employee orientation, brings on on-site facility training which includes 401k training, and tuition assistance training programs, etc.

"If it wasn't for Wayne State, and getting my master's degree from there, I would not be where I am at today. Being a student-athlete has always helped me. The comradery of that is mixed with what the military is like; you might not talk to your teammates for months on end, but when you see them, it's like you never missed a beat with them," Neshkoff expressed.

"Another positive thing -- always having that athlete mentality has definitely helped me, especially in my military life with having to be physically fit. I still strive myself on trying to act like I'm a college runner, it just helps you. You have a mental fortitude that is instilled in you during that time."

The goals that Neshkoff achieved as a student-athlete has helped shape him into the person he is today. His story is the perfect example to show how strongly Wayne State focuses on helping their students accomplish their dreams no matter the size.

"During my last deployment to the Middle East, I don't think there was a day that went by that I was not running on a treadmill putting in 60-70 miles a week, showing people 15-20 years younger than me that I can still run as fast as I could in college," Neshkoff said.

"Being a student-athlete, there is always that determination and professionalism that you need in order to meet a standard and pass a standard, and that is what being a student-athlete always meant to me."

Print Friendly Version