For Army veteran Beck Helmcamp, the desire to serve never truly ends. It simply finds a new place to take root.
That new ground is the greenhouses at SUNY Morrisville, where Helmcamp, 35, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in horticulture business management and a minor in cannabis studies. After a military career that included overseas deployment and traumatic experiences he would carry long after his military service, he is embracing a new mission: cultivating a future through horticulture.
For Helmcamp, the next chapter is about more than building a career. It’s about using what he has learned to help others find direction and purpose, too.
Growing up in Smithville, Texas, Helmcamp faced difficult circumstances at an early age. He left high school and, by age 16, was homeless, living in his truck while working part time at a car wash. Eventually, he and a friend decided to join the military.
Helmcamp enlisted in the United States Army in 2009 as a wheeled vehicle mechanic, maintaining and repairing military vehicles and equipment. While serving in Germany, the Army sergeant experienced combat, including incidents involving mortar fire. He also witnessed soldiers lose their lives in a suicide bombing. He still carries physical reminders of that day, including shrapnel in his chest, but the emotional wounds have proven harder to overcome.
The Army gave Helmcamp something he had been searching for: structure, direction and a sense of belonging. Music also became an outlet. While stationed in U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern, he wrote and performed songs for fellow soldiers and participated in events such as Operation Rising Star, a vocal competition.
During his military service, Helmcamp met his wife, Joanna, a SUNY Morrisville graduate. The two served together in Germany, where he worked as the general’s mechanic and she served as the general’s driver. They married and had two children. In 2017, when Joanna became gravely ill, Helmcamp made the decision to leave the Army so he could be with her and care for their children. He received an honorable discharge that year.
Leaving military service brought challenges Helmcamp hadn’t anticipated. Back home in Texas, he faced a difficult battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including hypervigilance and guilt, as well as the loss of the structure and mission that had defined his military life. Although he worked with counselors through the Department of Veterans Affairs, finding his footing in civilian life remained difficult.
“I was not in a good place and had trouble trying to reintegrate into a society I never really felt a part of,” Helmcamp said. “I was numb. I felt lost. I felt stuck in the same rut going in circles.”
He moved from one job to another, searching for stability and a sense of direction. While sitting in his garage, he came across an old issue of SUNY Morrisville’s Momentum magazine featuring an alumnus lying in a cannabis field. The image immediately caught his attention — and would ultimately change the direction of his life.
“If it hadn’t been for that magazine, I would be sitting in my garage in Texas struggling to figure out what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be,” Helmcamp said.
Helmcamp and Joanna decided to move from Texas to Whitesboro, New York, so he could pursue his interest in horticulture and cannabis studies. The opportunity represented more than a career change. It was an opportunity to build something meaningful from his own experiences and eventually help others.
For Helmcamp, studying horticulture has become more than an academic pursuit. Working with plants gives him a sense of purpose, stability and direction.
“It gives me something positive to focus on, rather than letting difficult memories take over that space in my head.”
Helmcamp credits several factors for his success at SUNY Morrisville, including the support and resources available to veterans and the encouragement of professors. The college, which has earned a Military Friendly designation for its commitment to serving veterans, currently supports 27 student veterans, along with students receiving education benefits as dependents of military service members.
“The hands-on nature of the horticulture program has allowed me to thrive,” Helmcamp said. “Every class gets hands in soil and builds around the information, and I retain it better.”
For Helmcamp, horticulture has become both a source of healing and an opportunity to innovate. At a campus showcase, he researched and constructed a physical table using hemp (Cannabis sativa) as a sustainable alternative to traditional wood.
The project also reflects the kind of work he hopes to pursue beyond graduation in May 2027, using his knowledge of plants and their properties to help others explore other approaches to wellness.
Now a full-time student taking 21 credits, Helmcamp also works part time at Eaton Botanicals. The GI Bill helped cover much of his educational expenses, while student loans and his part-time job help make up the difference.
After graduation, he plans to pursue an online master’s degree in clinical herbology and eventually open a spice and tea shop offering herbal products and supplements.
While his healing journey is ongoing, Helmcamp looks forward to channeling his experiences into work that can make a difference in the lives of others. He takes pride in how far he has come and the future he is building.
“Every experience and everything we live through makes us who we are today,” he said.
