Hailey Howell / Feature Editor

While some students came to USD right after graduating high school, others took a different journey to get here. San Diego is home to USD as well as numerous military bases, which brings many people who serve the country to our community. There are numerous students who have already served or are currently still actively serving while attending college. Going from being deployed to learning in the classroom can be a difficult transition due to varying challenges in the two different environments. Some students shared their experiences of what it was like to serve in the military and their transition to college. 

USD junior David Espinoza shared that he joined the Navy after being undecided about his career ambitions, and that he found interest in being a nuclear mechanical operator. Espinoza explained that being in the military wasn’t like anything he had experienced before.

“It was a very different environment than I was previously accustomed to,” Espinoza stated. “There was a high level of structure and discipline, with very low tolerance for mistakes. It was also an adjustment dealing with a constantly [challenging] schedule. I think I grew a lot as far as the discipline I was lacking and learning to kind of survive on my own. On the other hand, it was very damaging for me emotionally because being in the military is a very isolating experience that leaves very limited room for interpersonal and romantic connections. I was very lonely and did not fully recognize that I was depressed most of my time in service. This was the reason I chose to get out; I met my now wife here in San Diego while on shore duty and realized I finally had something to motivate me to actually have a life outside the structure of the navy.”

Espinoza planned on spending more time in the Navy until retirement. But, with the help of his wife, he decided to earn a degree in mechanical engineering, in order to make more money and gain better time and location stability. In Espinoza’s last few months of serving, he prepared to  take classes at Mesa College before transferring to USD. Though expressing the difficulty of the transition from being in the military back to college life, Espinoza did acknowledge some highlights. 

“I was used to much more structure  and  basically being told exactly what to do to accomplish tasks;  now I [need] to  think  on my  own and track all  the little things I [need] to do,” Espinoza stated. “I could not have done it without  my wife and her   encouragement and help with  logistics. Once I was actually in school, the classes were surprisingly laid-back compared to what I endured in my specific Navy training. I was pleasantly  surprised  at  my ability  to absorb information compared with the average student, and the pace of classes was about 20 to 25 percent that of most of my Navy training, with far less strict requirements for knowledge. I’m used to memorizing entire system schematics and random specifications of equipment, as well as emergency protocols for numerous critical situations. It was quite refreshing to just be a student with no other real responsibilities and mainly be tested for conceptual understanding  of  material   rather  than   brute memorization.”

Another veteran, USD junior Briana  Burton,  joined  the military in 2017 after holding an interest in architecture from a young age. Burton knew she wanted to pursue her passion and leave North Carolina, so she researched and gained advice from others. Ultimately, she decided to take on the role of a civil engineer in the Navy.

“I happened to talk to a lot of people who were in the Navy,” Burton stated. “They gave me resources saying ‘Oh yeah, you could  be   one  of  the  civil engineers and travel and they’ll pay  you. You’ll  have  a place to live and  you’re  not on your own, you’re still supported.’  So I decided to enlist … I  also wanted to  leave  North Carolina.  That  was  a  huge  part  of it. I wanted to come [to San Diego] because everytime I visited, I felt comfortable and welcomed. So that was another really important factor.” 

For five years, Burton served in  a  construction  battalion  group called the Seabees, who focused on  civil  engineering, building and constructing while in the Navy. Burton was stationed in Port  Hueneme  for about three and a half years before transferring to Coronado’s Naval Amphibious Base for the remainder of her time in the service. 

Burton  shared   that   she always wanted to go to college outside of her home state and researched  to find the architecture program that she thought would  be  the best for her. Eventually, she found USD when exploring these programs. Even though  the  transition was difficult   at  first, she  had   help when coming back to the classroom. 

“I feel  like  if  I didn’t seek help, it would’ve been very difficult because I had no idea what I was doing,” Burton said. “I’m  just  like ‘Okay,  I know what I  want to  do,  but  how to get there.  No answers.’  So before I got  out, before my contract ended, I went online, and I sought out  transition  counselors. So there are people specifically that  will  help   you  go from active duty back  into  the  civilian world, and their  specialization is  helping  you with  that transition. I reached out online to one — I  think I found her on LinkedIn and  she helped me so much. All the paperwork I needed and who I needed to contact and everything, she really helped me navigate that.”

While some students have finished their time in the Navy, others are  still currently  serving. USD junior Andrew Dolan discussed his experience as an active  officer  in  the Marine Corps.  Currently  a staff sergeant, Dolan is  in  more of  a mentorship role to help guide NROTC students. He is currently in  the Marine  Enlisted Commissioning Education Program   which  allows those  who are enlisted to be officers while also getting  an education. Dolan shared  that  even  though he loves learning  in a classroom now,  he didn’t think that he was ready  to attend  college  right away.

“If   I would  have gone to college  at   18  years  old,   I  would’ve really  really  struggled  because  I just  didn’t  have the work ethic,” Dolan  stated.  “I  didn’t  have   the   kind    of  resiliency that I  would need to have, and  I  think  the biggest thing  is  that    I  just didn’t know who I was …   I  started  going to  college  when    I  was 24, so, for me, I kind of  knew  more  who I was. I knew what  I liked, and whenever I would go to classes,  I actually really enjoy being there and learning because it’s something that I want to do. I don’t just see it as a way to get a degree.”

Before joining the Marine Corps, Dolan was homeschooled from a young age. He always thought he might join the Coast Guard or  the Navy, and   he decided  to   become   a  Marine after his experiences at boot camp. Dolan shared the difference from serving to now still being active but in the classroom.  

“It was definitely a big change,” Dolan said. “Going from homeschool to college was similar in the sense that homeschool you don’t go to class everyday, you go to class once or twice a week. College, very  similar. You go to class, you know, two to three times a week … I think the biggest difference was, I think maybe what a lot of college students feel, is just the difficulty of the classes.  You’re  expected  to write at a higher proficiency, you’re  expected  to  do  a bunch of   tests  and  stuff  like that.  And so  it  was   similar  in  some ways, but obviously more difficult.”

There’s many students who have  served,  are  still  active  or are  currently  in ROTC  that attend  USD. Even though it can  be a  big  change,  students  show  that  it’s  possible  to come back to class  after  serving  in  the military — or  while  still  being  active —  and stay on top of course work. 

Students participate in USD’s NROTC program to prepare for careers in the military. Photo courtesy of @nrotcsd/Instagram