A Memorial Marine

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For many high schoolers, understanding what life outside of high school entails and how to utilize personal strengths for the future is a source of constant internal turmoil. However, this is not the case for Memorial senior Brandon Escobedo, who says he’s known for a while now that his path in life involves joining the Marines. Enlisting in the Marines is one thing, but the grueling workouts and sheer determination Brandon has undertaken to prepare himself are on an entirely different level of dedication.

 

Even after deciding to pursue involvement in uniformed services, there are many factors to consider when choosing one of the seven branches of the military.  “I stopped by all the other branches to see what they could offer,” Escobedo said, “but whenever it came down to the final decision I went with the Marines cause I saw something in them that I didn’t see in the other ones, like brotherhood. I just felt a connection with them, being the toughest.”

 

While the unity and companionship enrollment in the Marines can provide is an attractive aspect to many, the process of preparing oneself is enough to deter even the most athletic students on campus. “Every Thursday we have PT sessions where we all meet up at the station and we do workouts,” Escobedo explains when asked about how he is preparing.  “And one Saturday every month we do these things called ISTs, it’s called the initial strength test, and we do pull ups…run a mile and a half and crunches.” 

 

Despite the demanding nature of the profession, Brandon says it’s always been his dream to be a Marine. When asked if he has ever faltered in his aspirations, he responded by saying “Not at all. I’ve known one hundred percent this what I wanted to do for a while and when I enlisted and signed my contract, I just knew this was what I wanted to do.”

 

The official Marines websites cites their three core values as honor, courage and commitment. Although only in high school, Brandon Escobedo has already managed to display these traits consistently through his journey to train for the Marine Corps. Even if one holds no interest in joining the military themselves, the execution of such hard work and ambition is something to be celebrated by all.