Tillman scholar working to develop a technology to keep military members safe

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Zeeshan Parvez has led an action-filled life. “I served in the Marines with the Marine Special Operations Command MARSOC as a critical skills operator, now known as the Marine Corps Raiders or MARSOC Raiders,” he explained.

Zeeshan was an explosives expert and led his team in training and implementation of explosive devices.

He says his time in the Marines shed light on the dangers the explosives pose to American and Allied forces. As a Tillman Scholar, he is working on his Ph.D. at UCLA to get extensive experience with one long-term goal in mind. “To start a business that basically targets government contracts and tries to develop a technology to defend our forces overseas or in harm’s way,” said Zeeshan.

His primary focus is on how we can keep our armed forces safe. “Body armor and specialized systems like that, but now that warfare is kind of moving in a more dynamic fashion and moving into a new space. It’s kind of adapting and basically, moving in that direction as well,” explains Zeeshan.

He told us being a Tillman scholar means so much to him. He describes it as a family, a tight-knit group that works together to achieve greatness. For Zeeshan, he also wants to keep his brothers and sisters currently serving our country safe, and because of the support of the Tillman Foundation, he will one day do just that.

“Protect our service members who are deployed overseas or deployed in harm’s way, and kind of develop technology that benefits them and provides them the ability to one, accomplish their mission, and two, keep them alive,” he said.

Copyright 2022 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.