While many seniors send in their commitment letter to college, some students have committed to a different type of intense, strenuous, and rigorous training. Seniors Anthony Marrs, Jeremy Kina, and Owen Foster will give back to their country and earn their stars and stripes serving in the military.

Foster gained an interest in the Marine Corp when he was very young. When he was 17 years old, Foster met up with a recruiter who informed him on the benefits and process of serving in the military. Once Foster learned about the college financial support he would gain from his service, he realized that the marines was a good option. However, Foster ultimately chose to join the Marine Corp based off of his own values.

“The decision is important to me because the American constitution and the citizens it protects deserve protection, and they deserve to be free. Our freedom was fought for and won by our military and that freedom was something I would go all in to protect,” Foster said.

Marrs also decided to join the Marine Corp as an aviation mechanic after he heard that he could become a certified mechanic during his service. Marrs plans to go straight to the workforce after his service. Certification for mechanics can be attained at a college, but Marrs hopes to gain more during his time in the military than simply becoming certified.  

“If I end up working at SpaceX then I work at SpaceX. But, I can also say I did something for the country as well,” Marrs said.

For Kina, it was really his uncle’s stories about making friendships and fun experiences in the Army that piqued his interest in the military. Kina connects to his uncle and the nostalgic stories of the military, which contributed greatly to his decision to the army. Also, Kina hopes that the military will teach him morals that he feels traditional education often lacks.

“I really need that discipline [that the military will teach me] for whatever I’m going to do in the future,” senior Kina said.

Each student came across the military path in a different way, but all three students, Foster, Marrs, and Kina share one value in common: the desire to defend their country come fall.