Chris Roessner ("Sand Castle")

Chris Roessner's attitude and work ethic speak for themselves. In a relatively short period of his life, he's gone from surviving a year in Iraq in the Sunni Triangle performing a wartime mission with one of the lowest survival rates, to being awarded a prestigious academic scholarship through the Pat Tillman Foundation, to writing and executive producing his own film, "Sand Castle," which recently debuted as a Netflix Original Movie in April 2017. Part of his reason for joining the military, like so many other young soldiers, was to earn money for college. That decision set Chris on a path to discover his passion for writing and motion pictures, and it's clear he's taken advantage of every opportunity he's earned along the way. It's not too often that your first major screenplay is made into a movie as quickly as "Sand Castle" was. And most importantly, Chris was able to make a film that was as true as possible to the experience he and so many others like him had serving in combat - a feat that's not easily achieved. If you're looking for inspiration, you'll find it in the story of Chris Roessner! @CitizenRoessner | www.pattillmanfoundation.org/scholar/chris-roessner/ | "Sand Castle" (www.netflix.com/title/80118916) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices