Life of a Future Marine
Photo Credit: Thomas Trexler
Fear is not an option for a true Marine. Aaron Cauble is no exception to this rule, as shown when Cauble looked fear in the eyes and took a leap of faith last spring.
Writer Jarrett Murphy
August 30, 2010
Filed under Student Life & News
Many believe that it takes a special type of person to serve our country, but I believe it takes an even better person to serve our country as a Marine and this is what one of Catawba’s most outstanding student’s plans to do after he graduates this school year. Aaron Cauble is a senior math major and plays football here at Catawba College. He plans to join the Marines once he has graduated and I recently spoke with Aaron to talk to him about his future in the Marines and this past summer he spent in OCS basic training.
Aaron has always been surrounded by military figures his whole life, through his grandfather who has served in the Army and his mother who was a member of the National Guard. After he told me this information about his family, I felt that it was no surprise that he himself wanted to go into some form of the military. However, the military was not always something he has wanted to do. Only recently has Aaron really thought about joining the Marines. He informed me that it all started his junior year in college after he saw a commercial advertising for the Marines. After seeing this advertising, Aaron researched the Marines and found out that this was the career for him.
Aaron plans to graduate from Catawba with a math degree in the spring, which is exceptional in itself but says, “Having a math degree going into the military has minimal impact on how fast you move through the ranks” and that is the way he wants it. My time with Aaron showed me that he is the type of person that likes to earn his own way and move to higher points in his career and in life on his own. This quality is rare to find in someone especially someone who is just getting their life started.
After recently going into OCS training this past summer, Aaron was more excited than nervous and he made that clear during the interview. His experience in training was physically demanding and tested his ability to think in real life situations that he will face once he has become an official member of the Marines and begins to serve. I feel that he wanted to emphasize the point to me that being in the military is not as bad as everyone thinks and that being in the Marines can have great benefits. Aaron believes that his time spent in training changed him for the better and he said that his time in training made him ready to serve after he graduates, because he enjoyed the experience that he had and going through training made him love the career that he chose even more.
My discussion with Aaron led me to the conclusion that preparing to become a Marine has also had a drastic impact on his behavior in school, because he feels that he needed to focus on school more and stay out of trouble so that he can continue to have future success as he begins to serve as a Marine. Being a Catawba student has also had an impact on his overall behavior and he say’s “I will take what I have learned from the classroom and my past experiences at Catawba and apply it to my future career in the Marines”. When he begins his journey through life once he has graduated, I know that Aaron will remember the times he had at Catawba and miss it in someway but I also know that he is ready to move on and begin a new chapter in his life.
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