At West Clermont Local Schools, we are committed to supporting all students on their individual paths to success - including those who choose to serve our country through military enlistment.
Approximately 6% of the people living in the greater Cincinnati area have served their country in branches of the U.S. Military. Chances are, someone in your own neighborhood at one time answered the call to serve. Veterans in our area include teachers, business owners, and employees at hundreds of businesses.
Recently we spoke to active military members who shared their experiences with service, education, and personal growth. These representatives of the U.S. Military came to West Clermont’s Spring Career Fair to engage with students. They all said, enlisting can open the door for education, travel, and employment.
“It can definitely open their horizons with the travel, seeing different cultures, experiencing different cultures, the food, how different societies differ from ours in terms of technology and just how they live,” explains Navy Petty Officer Second Class, Katelyn Woodruff. “It’s been an eye-opener, especially going to India, going to Greece, going to Croatia, seeing just housing and how it is vastly different from ours because it’s a lot older and architecture-wise. But it’s a great opportunity for kids to get out of Ohio and experience more than just what’s in their hometown.”
Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, Lane Smith, explains why he decided to join.
“I joined straight out of high school. I was already accepted to University of Kentucky, and then art school in Florida, but I wanted a little bit more excitement right out the door. I was only 18 years old, so I chose to join the Army. I wanted to be an infantryman, so that's what I did, because I wanted to kick down doors, shoot guns, do a bunch of cool stuff and travel,” said Smith.
“We look for people who want a change in their lives. They know that there's something in their life they're missing, and they want to get it, but they have to put in the hard work for it. I'll look for someone who's willing to accept their mistakes, and actually want a better future for themselves,” explained Marine Corps Sergeant Javier Rosasrubio.
And when it comes to education you don’t have to decide between enlisting or college - you can do both.
“It is definitely possible to get both, either going by Navy Reserves or doing the enlisted route. Both, you can go to college. Reserves, you can go to college full-time and still serve on the weekends and two weeks out of the month. Enlisted, it's a little bit more difficult because you're doing your job actively every day. But those days that you do have the downtime and your weekend's off, you can enroll into college and start getting your classes done,” siad Woodruff.
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