Military Personal Statement

I would like to be a part of the WSU Army ROTC program because I have a lot of potential to offer and I want to develop into a full fledged Army officer. The military path is something I have always wanted to pursue since junior year of high school. The influence of growing up in a Navy family helped shaped my decision to enlist in the Army National Guard. I was fortunate enough to be advanced from PV2 to PFC at the end of BCT on November 2016. During Initial Entry Training I realized that my goals and beliefs were aligned with beliefs such as the Army Values and LDRSHIP principles. After learning about the Army values and LDRSHIP principles, I integrated these beliefs into my everyday life as a soldier and a working student.

"Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today" (Richardson 382). One of the most amazing things people have dreamt to obtain is the “American Dream”. It is so profound in all the things it can symbolize. It is freedom, justice, but most of all, it is a hope for a better way of life. The immigrants who made the long and dangerous voyage to America wanted their children to have experiences that they never got to experience, one of those things being to have an education. Education has been so important and cherished for many years now. Without it, usually meant a mediocre job was imminent. Without it, people will not be using their full potential. Without it, the American Dream is not

From a very early age, I always assumed it was a part of my future to pursue an education. The American educational system engraves the importance of school at a very young age. Elementary school children are motivated through rewards when they try their hardest to reach their goals. Students are exposed to statistics and facts outlining the consequences of not getting a college degree as soon as they reach middle school. High school counselors and staff make it their priority to ensure that students apply to college. Students are conditioned to believe that education is the building block to a successful future. My cultural upbringing did not support my choice to pursue an education, however, I refused to conform to my family’s behavioral expectations because certain norms must be challenged due to progressive time periods and conflicting values.

The struggles I’ve had to see my parents face because they were never able to have the education they would have liked to have for themselves, as well as Booker T. Washington’s struggles and triumph make me value education more. So although you might not see education doing something for you in the long run trust me we all need it and without it you will never have the chance to see all the opportunities that are out there in store for each

Working within the Veterans Affairs work-study program has many different avenues that interest me. I have found that I have a great deal of passion working in customer service and the office environment. I feel that with my prior training and experience I would be a valuable asset within the organization. I am a very self-motivated person that is very dedicated to my job and to my coworkers. My prior experience has been in active duty Air Force where I served a 9 year enlistment before separating honorably as an E-5/ Staff Sargent.

I am writing this letter to respectfully ask for your support in helping me become one of the many distinguished cadets at the United States Military Academy. I have achieved so much in my 16 years of life and being appointed into the academy will be very well-deserving and forthcoming to all the amazing opportunities that the academy has to offer. I have worked tremendously hard to obtain a 4.0 gpa and maintain a class rank in the top 100 of my 1000 person class. With your help I can hopefully be appointed as a West Point candidate for the class of 2022.

My Mother and Father relocated from Costa Rica to New York City where they met got married and where I was born. When I was just two years old, always wanting the best for us, my father moved our family from New York City to Jacksonville, FL in search of a better paying job and the American dream so he could provide us with a better quality of life. To ensure we were always clothed and feed, my father sacrificed everything for us and worked long hours to do so. Though I did have a pronounced, safe and active upbringing the North Florida school system didn’t expect much from the Hispanics that were starting to move to the then small town; unfortunately since my parents worked so much they expected the school system

Being born of 2 immigrant parents, who work menial jobs and have no education has always had its weight on me. Neither one of my parents are high school graduates and no one in my family has obtained a collegiate education. I have been able to experience first hand how difficult a life with no education is. I recall other students sharing how their parents provided aid with their homework and read to them, knowing I did not get to experience that made me gloomy. I had no other choice but to learn everything on my own and then attempt to teach my parents. This peculiar lifestyle has pushed me harder in academics and has given me a genuine appreciation for the value of an education.

My mother always reminded me how education is the most important tool which I can use to improve myself and my community. After obtaining my undergraduate degree in geography in the late nineties, I later moved to the United States a year later to peruse a master degree in computer sciences. After arriving in the US, I learned that life was not as easy as I thought. I could not afford the tuition, paying my bills and taking care of my family. I later dropped out of school to work some low paying jobs in order to save money to continue my education. After several years of contemplating what to study, I enrolled in a community college to continue my education in radiologic technology.

My mother worked four jobs at once to make financial ends meet, while always stressing the importance of education and financial independence to my brother and myself. My grandmother only achieved a second grade education due to the financial constraints on her family at a young age, but still in the end managed to make certain that of her children and grandchildren had what was needed to flourish and become successful, educated members of the community. The tenacity and history of these two women I still carry with me today. Their struggles have inspired to me to only want more from life, but also serve as a positive role model for the younger members of my community. I observed from other family members how an education can open a multitude of doors and opportunities. I want to make the biggest and most significant on my community and on my family as possible, and the only foreseeable path is to achieve a college education to gain the necessary skills, knowledge and connections needed to flourish and implement positive

I want to become an Army officer because I long for a career that will provide continual professional development opportunities while pushing me to reach my full potential as a leader, and will also position me to make a positive impact globally. I believe that by becoming an Army officer I can accomplish this because I have seen the success of those that have gone before me. I come from a family of people who have served in our nation’s military, and their lives are a testimony to the renowned individuals that the Army produces.

I, Jenner Jason Pereda, if selected for appointment under the Active Duty CWO Program, do agree to remain on active duty for a period of 3 years subsequent to acceptance of such appointment.

Many people are concerned about the U.S. military because of how many risks come with joining it. However, the U.S. military also explains the benefits that one could receive. Joining the military is a decision that should not be taken lightly. One must understand all aspects of the military. In order for a voter to be fully informed about joining the US military, one must consider both the risks, like mental illnesses and commitment and benefits, like education, and experience.

I have wanted to go into the military since i was very young. Most children say that they want to be a firefighter or a doctor, but i said that i wanted to be in the military. I remeber looking at pictures and learning about military officers and i felt called to be one of those men. My decision and dreams never changed, as most childrens do when they realize the work required. But for reasons beyond my comprehension, my desire of a miltary life never wavered. Both of my parents' fathers served in the military, one n the Air Force and one in the Army. They told me stories of their days in the military, bragging of their different branhes and I took what they said and choose a school that woud lead to a career in neither of their branches.

The view of education is different for every individual. As of for me, education is the highlight of my life. I was born into a family where my grandparents and my parents did not have the opportunity to get an education. My grandparents went through a time of war, famine and communism, they struggled to stay alive. On the other hand, my parents also lived through a time of communism. My parents did not have the opportunity to get an education and pursue their dreams in their lives. My parents and grandparents later in their lives came to America as legal immigrants and were pleased to start their new lives in a country of freedom. My father, as the head of the household began taking classes to learn English, so he can start working to support his family. It was a great struggle coming to a country where no one understands you. My father worked very hard as a welder, learning English and supporting his family. My mother was a stay at home mom raising my siblings and me. My parents had ten children. My mother was not able to get an education in America because she was working very hard raising her children. An addition to her hard work, as a house wife, my mother fought for my brother’s life that was battling brain cancer. My father worked long hours and worked very hard to support his family and spend many hours at the hospital with my sick brother. Watching my parents struggling, gave me a great desire to be different, and purse a career that was right for me, so one day I