“It’s to make you successful.” This was how Sergeant Devin Gioacchini, a Marine recruiter, began his hour-long informational lesson on the NROTC scholarships in David Kornmuller’s Government and AP Government classes on August 9th, 2017. Before getting into the slideshow he had prepared, Sergeant Gio told classes about his career in the Marines.

Sergeant Gio enlisted shortly after graduating from high school in 2008, and went through boot camp at the end of July in Parks Island, South Carolina. Boot camp was, to him, “The worst, best fun in your entire life.” In his 10-year career as a Marine, he has been stationed in Japan, Missouri, South Carolina, Southern California, and finally Tucson, Arizona. He described the Marines as “Highly trained, highly adapted, and highly skilled,” and said that they exist “…because the Marine Corps is actually wanted.” He spoke very highly of the Marine Corps, and then began his discussion about a huge opportunity for high school students, the NROTC scholarship.

The NROTC scholarship is a $160,000 scholarship that allows those who qualify to go to one of any 160+ participating colleges, including Harvard, The University of Arizona, Stanford, Embry Riddle, and many other high profile colleges. Students who have the ability to receive this scholarship would be able to go to one of these select colleges for free, and end up debt-free with a job as an Officer of the Marine Corps. Officers are there to make the whole operation run smoothly, which is quite a respectable position, and will give you an edge in future job applications. In addition to this, when attending your college, you may study any major that interests you, provided you maintain decent academic standing and take a Naval Science course every semester. With a Marine officer position and a college degree under your belt, your life is set after the mandatory four years of serving with the Marines.

There are qualifications for receiving the NROTC scholarship, though the academic qualifications are not impossible to achieve. You must have at least a 2.5 GPA and have already been accepted into the college that you plan on going to. The process, however, is not over after that. Provided you receive the scholarship, you are obligated to attend a 4-week summer training session during your first summer, then during the second summer a 10-day training session in Bridgeport, California. The third summer is the most rigorous, with 6 weeks at the base at Quantico, Virginia.

If you have any questions about the NROTC scholarship, contact the career counselor or Sergeant Gio, the Marine recruiter here at Sahuaro.