During the 28 years that Jim Fitzsimmons served in the U.S. Air Force, he completed over 200 combat missions in Viet Nam. His military career has allowed him to fly a variety of aircraft to a variety of places. Currently he spends most of his time on the ground, although he’s willing to hop on a plane any chance he can. After all, one of his mottos is “to fly is to die for.”

He makes good use of his time while he’s on solid ground by volunteering with Habitat in Tucson and up-state New York. Jim began working with Habitat over fifteen years ago and, although the organization has grown considerably since then, he says that one thing has remained the same: the dedication of the volunteers.

“One of the reasons I’ve stayed with Habitat is the quality of the people,” Jim says.
Over the years, Jim has spent much of his time teaching students how to handle the power of an aircraft as well as how to strengthen leadership skills. He relates the general learning process at Habitat to his days of teaching.

“The hands-on learning,” Jim remarks, “That’s how you teach kids how to fly.”  
When asked if Jim has learned anything from his students, he says without hesitation, “Plenty.”

He recalls a particular instance when he was teaching in Germany. Jim was confronted by a precocious high school student at a class picnic. The student approached Jim and asked, “Colonel, y’know what your problem is?”

With a wry smile Jim responded, “No, but I’d really like to know.”

The student proceeded to explain that he was teaching as if they were college students, not high school students.

“It was just a few short words,” Jim recalls.

He thanked the student for his bold input and, later that night, he thought about it and realized it was surprisingly sound advice.

“After that I changed my approach from a college academic level to a high school academic level.”

Jim adds that he has learned a lot from faculty members as well.

“You learn from every senior, equal and junior,” he says, “And it’s the same with Habitat.”
Jim continues, “There are no pretenses working with Habitat. It’s a first name basis, and they don’t know what you do or what you’ve done…but you begin to find out on the coffee breaks.”

During those breaks, people ask questions about each other, and discover similarities and differences.

Jim adds with conviction, “And you know without a shadow of a doubt they’d do anything for you too.”

Interviewed and Written by Volunteer Sierra Russell