Following his grandfather’s footsteps

The last roaring bell rings for the day and junior Jireh Lewin rushes out of the front doors from a long and stressful day of school. He had often walked past the recruiting station on his way home but today was different. Instead of walking past it, he took his first steps toward his career.

“I was talking to one of the recruiters and they let me know all of the benefits of my job and I was excited to take the first step in my future,” Lewin said

When high school started he knew it was time to figure out what to do. While he never thought of the armed forces as an option, the recruiter convinced him to join the Army by explaining benefits he would get from it after serving the country, including the GI Bill. The GI Bill benefits every veteran who joins by helping cover various costs including housing and medical bills.

“Since I joined the Reserves, I wanted to use my GI Bill to help pay for college,” Lewin said. “GI Bill is a tuition reimbursement basically meaning they give back your student loans.”

While Lewin enlisted in the Army, he thought of his grandfather who was once a paratrooper who jumped out of planes into the landing zones. Just like him he wanted to live a successful life.

“The Army benefits are very extensive and will allow me to get a better job in the long run,” Lewin said.

While he was swearing under oath, Lewin realized wherever he goes his family can’t go with him and that’s tough because his friends and family are the most important to him.

Despite this, Lewin has made a decision he feels will benefit him in the long run and is preparing to get shipped out to Fort Sill, Oklahoma this summer.

“Of course I’m going to miss him and Jireh has convinced me to follow in his footsteps,” Lewin’s best friend Anthony Munoz said. “I hope he doesn’t get hurt and I know he will make the world a better place in the long run.”

Now that Lewin has signed the contract to be enlisted in the Reserves for six years he plans on starting his own business in mechanics. He finally feels he has met his grandfather’s standards.

“I’m going into the Army because I want to better my career and have a better life for myself,” Lewin said.