LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1513784
LOCALadk 14 preparation for my application to the US Coast Guard Academy. The Coast Guard wasn't always my life's dream; ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to be a police officer. Being a police officer seemed like the perfect way to help my community and the world around me. However as I got older and began looking at colleges, really thinking through the rest of my life, I realized military service had more of the impact I was looking for. The only question remaining for me was which branch to pursue. Thankfully, one of my dad's friends is a retired Marine and was at a dinner party while I was thinking this through. I began to talk to him about my research into the military and how I wasn't sure where to go. He asked me to ignore the branches and tell him what it was I wanted to do. After I listed a few of the things I wanted in my job and he said, "Coast Guard," without any hesitation. At first I was a bit thrown off; I didn't know anything about the Coast Guard and hadn't really considered them as a viable military branch. As he explained their role and what opportunities I would have, I knew this was what I was looking for. I began looking into the Coast Guard and more specifically their Academy in the following months. One opportunity I found was their Academy Introduc- tion Mission (AIM). It's a week-long program for those entering their senior year of high school and interest- ed in the Academy. It gives you the most realistic look into what will be expected of you during Swab Sum- mer (the Coast Guard's "Boot Camp"), your four years at the Academy, and your service in the fleet. With the support of my family, I submitted the application to AIM and was fortunate enough to be selected. While it was the hardest week of my life, both mentally and physically, I'd do it every week of the year if I could. This realization was the final nail in the coffin for me: the United States Coast Guard was exactly what I wanted to do to help my community. One of the greatest benefits of being able to talk to real Cadets and Officers while there was that it helped me to refine exactly what I wanted my future to look like in the U.S. Coast Guard. Meeting with them has inspired me to strive to become a Rescue Helicopter Pilot after my four years at the Academy.