Senior year is the year when decisions are made and when dreams possibly become real. For four seniors at CarmelHigh School, this was the year of making the decision to join the military.
Seniors Eddie Suazo and Taylor Slupinski made the decision this year to join the United States Marine Corps.
“I chose to join the Marines because I think it would be a great opportunity for my life,” says Suazo, who will be an infantryman in the Marine Corps. “I don’t plan on making the military my career, but I want to be able to get a career out of it, hopefully as a mechanic.”
Slupinski will sign with the Marines at the end of this summer and has been talking with a recruiter regularly.
Both Suazo and Slupinski have also been in discussion with former Marine Sean Green, Carmel High’s computer lab technician.
“I check with them regularly, making sure they take care of what they have to before they enter the Corps,” Green says.
According to Green, the security screening for enlistment takes anywhere from 90 to 150 days to check for criminal records and possible affiliations that could prevent one from joining the Marine Corp, or any other branch of the Armed Forces.
“It is a lot different from when I joined the military,” Green says. “Another thing the Marines are being stricter about now is tattoos. The recruiter for this area told me that they don’t want any ink!”
Senior Misha Polovneff decided this year to be in a Reserved Officers’ Training Corps program for the Army. He hopes to be in this program at VanderbiltUniversity.
The ROTC program is a college-based program for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. The program gives a merit-based scholarship paying for all or part of a student’s college tuition in return for an obligation to active duty after graduating.
“I want to be in the Army because it is something new to try and their programs will help me with medical school, so I can have a career as a doctor,” Polovneff says. “I’m not sure if I want to make the military my career yet.”
Two of Polovneff’s grandfathers and his great-grandfather also served in the military.
“I applied to both the Navy and the Army, but messed up on the application for the Navy, so I chose the Army after they offered me money,” Polovneff adds.
Senior Billy Rudiger will be attending the United StatesNavalAcademy in Annapolis, Md., a four-year university run by the Navy. By the time he graduates, he will have a four-year degree and a commission as an officer in the U.S. Navy.
“I chose to be in the Navy because I love the sea, being on the sea—swimming in it—and boats are amazing,” Rudiger says. “Plus the Navy has so many opportunities, more than the Army or Air Force. Additionally, my great-grandfather served in the Navy in World War II.”
Rudiger’s highest goal has been to attend the NavalAcademy.
“My parents didn’t want me to be enlisted, and neither did I, so I figured I could either go into ROTC or to the academy, but the academy seemed out of reach,” Rudiger says. “I haven’t yet decided about becoming a pilot, a naval intelligence officer or working in Explosive Ordinance Disposal.”
According to the academy profile, the school has a seven percent acceptance rate. Annapolis only accepted 1,190 freshmen this year and nearly 20,000 applied. In addition, to be accepted, one needs to get a nomination from a congressman, senator, President or Vice President. Rudiger received Congressman Sam Farr’s primary nomination.
“I am really going to miss Carmel. Carmel High has given me many opportunities and friends, and for that I will always be grateful,” Rudiger says. “It will be a challenge to leave, but I know it is time to start a new chapter in my life.”
-ELEXIS PEREZ
