Andrew Holleran was born and raised in Oromocto, New Brunswick.  He graduated from UNB in 2001 and joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in 2004, training as an artillery officer.  From 2006-2010 he was attached to the 5ieme Régiment d’artillerie léger du Canada (RALC), where he served as a Troop Commander/Command Post Officer.  Through that unit he completed two deployments to Afghanistan, first as a CPO of a Gun Troop and later as a Forward Observer Officer.  He also did a tour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, acting as a United Nations peacekeeper.  In both cases Andrew confronted the realities of poverty and political conflict, and vastly different cultural expectations and perceptions that he had to navigate  and where he had to guide his troops.  The homecoming had its difficulties too, especially the return from Afghanistan, where Andrew shared aspects of his journey back to mental wellness and family.  In 2024-205 Andrew was stationed at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, and in April 2025 he took some time away to visit Crestwood students, sharing his story with Ms. Todd’s Anthropology class.