Seniors Sebastian Fogarty, Ali Weise and Jeanmarco Aranda have chosen the military path for their post-graduation plans.
In fact, Aranda has already completed basic training for the Army Reserves at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
Aranda made his decision “to go military” because he thought serving “would be a good experience,” and he “could learn a lot from it.”
Fogarty will be serving in the United States Marine Corps and Weise in the Air Force.
Many things prompted Fogarty to choose this path after high school. Among those was the simple phrase, “If not me, then who?”
Weise’s mom was in the Air Force, so she grew up hearing stories about her experiences and the values she learned.
“She talked about the sense of camaraderie, the pride in serving and how much she grew as a person,” she added.
Fogarty chose to join the Marine Corps over the other branches because, in his experience, they are more of a brotherhood than any of the others.
“The Corps is like a family because they are much smaller than any of the others, so you actually feel that brotherhood and don’t just feel like another number,” he added.
The Marine Corps is also the tip of the spear of the military as they are considered “America’s 911.”
“With this comes a sense of duty, and there is no greater feeling on this earth than having a purpose in this life,” he said.
He has always wanted to join, and he has been influenced by other people and classes in the background, but no one person in particular.
Weise’s mom, the biggest influence on her choice to enlist, has always been incredibly strong and supportive, said the senior. It was her mom who taught her the value of service, discipline and independence.
“Watching how she’s handled challenges in her own life made me want to push to do something meaningful too,” she added.
After graduation, the Marine will be shipped out to MCRD in San Diego on July 7 to start bootcamp.
He will be serving as active duty and was officially enlisted and sworn in in August of last year.
As for Weise, she will ship out to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base the second week of June. She will be serving active duty as a paralegal and was officially enlisted and sworn in on April 30, 2024.
