MILITARY APPRECIATION POST: NAVY

Blog Takeover: Petty Officer Buck, Scottsville, NY
​
     I graduated high school in 1989. My intention was to go to college following high school graduation, but I didn't know how to make that happen. No one in my family had gone to college so this was uncharted territory for me with little support to make it happen. After working 3 jobs for a year, I knew I had to do something to better my life. That's when I looked into joining the military. I entered the United States Navy on September 11th, 1990. I had no idea just how instrumental this journey would be in forming the person I am today.
​
     Not only did the Navy provide the financial means for me to go to college, it allowed me to believe in myself. I was a very average student in high school. My home life was, well, not good, and I didn't have the support to be successful. Through my military training, I learned that I could accomplish most anything that I put my mind to and worked hard for it. This includes acing exams in my trade school and passing physical fitness tests. I was not an athletic kid and was actually quite overweight. It was the military that sparked my love for physical fitness. 

     I was on active duty until September 1994, then stayed on as a reservist for an additional 10 years. I went on to earn my degree in Veterinary Medicine and have been practicing for 17 years. I would never have accomplished this without the Navy. To this day, I still say that joining the military was the best choice I have ever made in my life.