His path started on the Columbus campus, but it started off on the wrong foot. “I wasn’t a good student then,” Shumaker admitted. Still, he was admitted to Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS), his first step toward the career he desired. But it almost ended there. “If I didn’t change the way I was performing in school,” Shumaker remembered, “they wouldn’t invite me back.”
Naturally, the Newark native knew where to turn. “Ohio State Newark gave me more individualized attention,” he said. “The environment was much better for me. I learned to be a good student here.” As a result, he was invited back to OCS for the second six-week period and graduated in its top 10%. He earned a bachelor’s degree after returning to the Columbus campus and then became a commissioned officer in the Marine Corps.
From the start, Shumaker showed a fervor that followed him as he rose through the ranks. As a captain, he started training young officers. As a major, he spent six months in the Persian Gulf and toured World War II battlefields across Europe. As a lieutenant colonel, he worked in the Pentagon and directed an emergency operations team on 9/11.
Shumaker was in a meeting when a plane hit the Pentagon that morning. As fires spread, “I was told to put together a team that could operate from the backup Pentagon in Pennsylvania,” Shumaker said. He briefed them during a harrowing helicopter ride above the chaos. By mid-afternoon, “we had everything running and ready to take command from the Pennsylvania site,” he said. “Everybody did their job well. Teaming up like that is why a lot of people join the military.”
A few years later, Shumaker was promoted to colonel. He moved to Germany and started Marine Forces Europe, helping establish aid programs in places like Azerbaijan and Morocco. He returned to the Pentagon after three years, this time to lead the Marine Corps war plans division. His second stint at the Pentagon lasted until his retirement in 2012.
In 2017, Shumaker moved home to Newark, where he continues to lead. He’s active in local Lions and Rotary clubs. He speaks at elementary schools on Veterans Day. And he’s a new member of Ohio State Newark’s advisory board. “I was given a lot by this community,” he said. “Now, it’s time I try to give back.”
Shumaker spent 29 years in the Marine Corps, crossing the country and the globe. Doing so has reaffirmed his appreciation for the place he grew up — and the place that helped him grow into the influential force he is today. “If I hadn’t come to Ohio State Newark, I might not have had any of these experiences,” Shumaker stated. “This place changes lives positively.”