My four years in the Marine Corps really changed me as a person. I stepped on the famous yellow footprints as an immature teenager and left active duty as a changed man. Boot camp was my first chapter of my transformation. My three incredible drill instructors had the task of turning ordinary civilians into mean fighting machines. During the intense twelve weeks of training, I learned new skills. I learned and polished some skills from boot camp, but learning how to be disciplined, responsibility, and team player were the skills that affected me the most. I applied those three skills the most during my three tours in Iraq; as a result, they got my fellow Marines and I home safe. After I was honorable discharged, I applied those same skills to school. Whenever there is group work in any of my classes, I fit in well with my fellow classmates. Since I am older, I tend to take the initiative to talk to the professor if we need help, or I help out my classmates with any problem that may come about. Also, I try to build group cohesion. Being a responsible Marine, equates being a responsible student. There are many similarities of being a good Marine and a good student. These are some of the similarities: getting one's work done, arriving the classroom or formation early is vital, being attentive in war or the classroom will help me become successful. In a time of war, being disciplined may mean knowing and doing your job well, not falling asleep during post, and keeping your weapon clean at all times. School may not be a life or death situation, but being disciplined as a student means you will have a better chance of performing well as a student. Showing up to class everyday and on time, sitting in front of classroom and taking good notes, completing one’s work by due date, takes discipline. Applying what I learned in the Marines to school is not a hard transition for me because both required the same skills.

 

 

I plan on pursuing a career as an entrepreneur. Consequently, I am going to study Business Administration. Business has always been a field I thought about pursuing ever since I was a teenager. One reason why was I had the curiosity on how Bill Gates and Steve Jobs became so rich; they owned their own business. My time in the military helped me narrow my career down. Taking orders from higher-ranking supervisors made me want to become my own boss, so the best way is to open my own business. With the degree in Business Administration, it will help me become more knowledgeable in my career. I am planning to transfer to UC Riverside at the latest by fall of 2009. Currently, I am taking my first business class which is Introduction to Business, and enjoying it.

                Earning an education comes at a cost. Fortunately, the Montgomery G.I. Bill has been helping me pay for my education since I started at De Anza in fall of 2005. However, I have used twenty five of the thirty six months allotment they have given me. While I am receiving the MGIB, I am also receiving FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, for the past year. When I took my placement tests for math and English, my results were low which made eligible for EOPS. Extended Opportunities and Program and Services, a program for low income or underachieving students, has contributed to my education goals. They have provided with early registration, two hundred dollar book voucher, and counseling every quarter. Being in the program has put me on the right road to transferring. With all these resources, I know they won’t last forever, and I am using them to my advantage.

 

 

It has been seven years since I signed four years of my life away to Uncle Sam. All the experience and skills I learned being in the Marines has made who I am today, especially being able to work as a team, being responsible and discipline. I did not leave those skills behind when I ended my contract; they will be with me through out my life. Possessing such skills have helped me through the Marines and helping me through school. Discouraged by my placement in math and English, my transferring ladder placed me at the bottom. It has been a climb trying get out of De Anza. In the beginning, I did not learn how to become a good student, until my grades started to slip. I came to realization in order for me to transfer to a competitive school I must be competitive myself. There have been a few bumps in my journey going through school, but I still manage to keep on going with all the support I have been receiving. Till this day, I am still trying to improve those skills to become the best person I am being capable of.  Before I left for boot camp, I made a promised to my father, mother, and uncle; I would earn a college degree because they disapproved of my enlistment. The skills I developed have help me become who I am today and continue to help me in my life endeavors.