Title: Full-time Faculty, School of Firearms Technology
Highest degree and school: Bachelor of Science in Biology, Texas A&M University
Teaching at SDI since: 2021
Cody Myers teaches full-time for the School of Firearms Technology, where his courses include FTT 100 Introduction to Firearms, FTT 104 Firearms Tools Lab, and FTT 210 Customizing and Woodworking. Prior to coming to SDI, Cody served for five years with the US Army. Stationed in Germany, he was privileged to train with numerous coalition groups where his roles included armory supervisor, weapons specialist, range safety supervisor, and weapons proficiency instructor. After being discharged, Cody earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Texas A&M, where his concentration focused on ecology. He has worked extensively on sustainability and habitat restoration projects focused on restoring healthy population numbers to species that are either already endangered or are in rapid decline.
Cody has long had a passion for teaching, saying “Serving as a contribution to the growth and professional development of others is a privilege unlike any other, and being a part of that is something I cherish deeply.” His time as an Army instructor brought challenging aspects to the process by adding significant cultural and language barriers as he worked with foreign allies. “I really enjoyed the feeling of watching others grow in such profound ways within such a high stakes situation where a failure to instill all aspects of the challenges we were preparing these local populations to face would have dire consequences. The opportunity to incorporate the techniques I had developed for positively influencing and guiding the development of others into a higher education setting was an excellent transition in that it allowed me to continue contributing to the advanced knowledge and technical development of others in ways that would prepare them for success in their career goals within the firearms and gunsmithing industries.”
In his personal life, Cody cultivates numerous hobbies, including playing guitar, metal fabrication, traditional joinery carpentry, woodworking, and overland adventure travel. He enjoys spending time with his wife and their three dogs, Suzy, Layla, and Lily. His idea of a perfect day would be one spent caring for his crops and chickens – he enjoys knowing that “the fruits of my labor is to eat nutrient-rich foods that I know every ingredient of and have cared for myself.” With his background in biology, Cody is very interested in the concepts of permaculture and regenerative soil management in agriculture and understands there is so much more to learn and incorporate into his own farming operations: “More than anything I would like to learn how to operate in synchronicity with the whims of nature rather than responding to them after the fact.”