Never in a million years did I ever think I would join a sorority, but I can say that it was by far the best decision of my life. The bond that I have built with my sisters is one that I will cherish my entire life. This is why it was so hard for me, after being in my sorority for just a semester, to pack my bags to leave for four months. While I was in high school I enlisted in the Army as a 13M (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Crewmember). After being recruited to play college field hockey I managed to get out of my Army contract two months prior to shipping to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. My recruiters had constantly contacted me ever since my junior year of high school trying to convince me to reenlist in the Army. There was only one job I wished to attain and it was a 12B (Combat Engineer), which at the time was completely closed to females. In Aug. 2015 right before I entered my fall sophomore semester my recruiter informed me that it had opened to women and within days I was enlisted as one of the first females to be a Combat Engineer.
Saying goodbye to all of my sisters was extremely hard, but knowing I had such an amazing support system back at Ursinus College made leaving so much easier. The first day I got to one station unit training, after a week of sitting around in reception, was crazy to say the least. We were picked up in some crazy cattle trucks and over 150 of us were crammed together like a can of sardines. Within minutes I had bags being dropped on my head, people stomping on my feet until they were purple, and a lot of screaming from crazy drill sergeants. We had to keep our faces stuffed in our bags and about three minutes prior to arriving at our humble abode our Drill Sergeant started screaming “Welcome to Charlie Company, I don’t know what the fuck god you believe in, but whatever one it is you better say a long hard prayer and think about why you came here because you are going to need it these next 14 weeks.”
Every day in basic training was very repetitive. You wake up bright and early at 4:30 a.m. standing at the position of attention at the end of your bed until of course somebody messes up and you are in the front leading rest, rapidly make your bed with the lovely hospital corners, and conduct personal hygiene. After a week of being at basic I was forced to cut 16 inches off of my hair because I couldn’t make the time hack to have it in the military bun every morning. You are off to first formation soon after personal hygiene standing tall looking good with your M4 in hand ready to conduct physical training.
Following PT you march as a company to the Chow Hall singing cadences (once you are past red phase). We were given about seven minutes to eat our meals every day with just a lovely spoon and of course quickly learned some amazing time management skills. When arriving back at the barracks our Drill Sergeant would brief us on the day’s activities which were usually completed with my platoon. These activities in basic training consisted of one of the following: basic rifle marksmanship, hand grenades, training in a field environment, obstacle courses, military communications, combat life saver skills, land navigation, gas chamber, ruck marches, or the warrior tower. During combat engineer training it would consist of: ruck marches, Sapper 20/20, demolitions, explosive hazards, constructing wire obstacles, bridge building, urban operations, or operating heavy equipment. If we were in the field we would eat MREs or field chow for lunch. Dinner would typically be around 7 p.m. back at the dining facility.
Going from everyday life to that lifestyle was a huge culture shock for the first three weeks, and I quickly began to bond with the people around me because we all were going through the hardest time of our lives. I found out after arriving home that I had a tear in my Achilles tendon that I managed to do during Army training. Staying at Fort Leonard Wood (Fort lost in the woods) during the winter months was the farthest thing from enjoyable. Those may have been the hardest 15 weeks I have ever endured, but I met the widest variety of people there that were a range of ages from so many different backgrounds. It was truly incredible. Yes, there were times where we would fight like cats and dogs and our bay would sound like a hen house, but through all the blood, sweat, and tears, (yes there was plenty of it) I grew some serious bonds with my battle buddies. There was no way I would have made it without them all by my side. Around my 10th week there I was told by my First Sergeant that I would be deploying to Afghanistan in June or July. I was extremely sad that I would have to miss the following semester, but was excited to face the next challenge god had in store for me. I later found out at my unit that I am not being deployed and even though I was up for the challenge, I believe it was god telling me it’s not my time to go there yet.
There are three main things I learned in the Army. How to fit a lot of shit in a little space, logic doesn’t exist, and how to complete a typically long task in a matter of minutes. I did not receive my flight information to leave Fort Leonard Wood until the morning before graduation day. I was supposed to fly into Hancock which is in Syracuse, NY (my hometown), but of course the Army used my mailing address which was Ursinus College so I had a flight into Philadelphia. I was freaking out because I had no civilian clothing and no way home from the airport. I was thankfully greeted at the airport with two huge signs and four loving Sigmas. After being driven back to Ursinus College there was a group of students waiting for me outside my old dorm screaming U.S.A.! That’s when I knew I had made it back to my real home. 
