Seniors Athena Corroon, Margo Muccia, Laura Moore, and Natty Pazos are moving towards different career paths than their classmates after high school.  The students will prepare for the military, in college,  through training that ranges from attending the Naval Academy to Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).

Athena will be starting her college education early, departing for the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland, June 27, 2019.  Between June and August, the incoming freshmen will participate in Plebe Summer, a seven-week training program that shapes young adults into midshipmen. Athena is looking forward to the opportunity to attend the Naval Academy and is especially excited to play on their Division I women’s lacrosse team.

“I am super excited and grateful for this opportunity because it has always been a dream of mine to serve our country,” Athena said.  “The Naval Academy really builds its students morally, mentally, and physically.  I am also extremely grateful to be able to play Division I lacrosse at the Academy.”

Margo will attend Miami University of Ohio in Oxford, Ohio next year, where she plans to participate in either Army or Navy ROTC.  Although she is unclear about which career branch she wants to pursue after school, Margo hopes to train all four years and graduate going directly into the military as a Second Lieutenant.

“I have not yet decided what specific career branch I want to go; examples would be medicine, intelligence, communications, aviation, special operations, etcetera,” Margo said.  “I hope that everything goes as planned and that I get to serve in the military for as long as possible.”

Under the ROTC training program, Margo would participate in morning physical training twice a week, take military science courses, physical training tests, and wear a military uniform for parts of the week.

Laura would like to participate in ROTC next year at Villanova University, in Villanova, Pennsylvania.  However, she hopes to have a career out of college before joining the military.  Laura is considering joining the Navy training program to eventually become a Marine after college, but may also study at Officer Candidate School a few years after her graduation so she may pursue a different career first. 

Next year, Natty will study at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, under the ROTC program for the Navy.  After she graduates, she has to serve active duty for five years, and, in exchange, the Navy pays for her college tuition.  In preparation, Natty will travel to the Great Lakes in Illinois this summer for a three-week training program.  After college, Natty aspires to be a fighter pilot and eventually work with private space companies such as Boeing or SpaceX.

Natty’s motivation to serve in the United States military is her dad, who was a Naval Flight Surgeon for about eight years.  His job allowed him to fly planes as well as treat pilots who flew Naval planes.  Additionally, the book Unbroken by American author Ms. Laura Hillenbrand, in which the army drafts an American Olympian during World War II, sparked Natty’s interest in the field. 

“Reading [Unbroken], I was in awe of the sacrifice and bravery of the soldiers, and it made me want to serve,” Natty said.  “I also really want to serve because it’s so easy to take for granted all the freedoms we have here in the US, but when you study other countries around the world that are oppressive and violent, you realize how lucky we are to live in a country with freedom, justice, and opportunity.  I want to defend and protect the democratic principles the US was founded on.”

Featured Image by Sydney Gallop ’20