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For the Common Good Faculty members with military background share experiences, lessons Many don’t know or ask about the lives of teachers before they became educators. However, after noticing a number of faculty members with military background, their personal stories were sought after and shared to honor their service.

Brisa Espinoza | Reporter

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t the age of 18, fresh out of high school, English teacher, Colleen Pepper Ayala was on her way to Fort Dix, New Jersey to start basic training for the U.S Army. After unexpectedly scoring very high on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test, she soon started to get calls from recruiters, before settling on the Army. “I never anticipated going into the military,” Ayala said, ”But I went and took the ASVAB test because I was crushing

Photos courtesy of | Colleen Pepper Ayala

Volume 11, Issue 3

November 10, 2017 INSIDE: Mass Shootings...Page 3

on a guy in the Airforce ROTC. I took the ASVAB class to stare at him and get a couple hours of my senior classes.” She went on to serve 4 years active duty in Italy and the Azores in Spain and two years of inactive training at Fort hood, Texas. In the army she was ranked a “Specialist”. While she looks back at her time in the army, there were moments that were not as pleasant as others, such as the decision making of her Command Officer. “Our Command Officer, did things that made you think, ‘Why did you do that?’” Ayala said. “It altered perception or how you viewed everything. When you see people who are older and in charge then you think that they’re smarter.” Some of her fondest memories were the moments spent with the people she met and the lifelong friendships made with them. “The people were the most interesting characters all in one place,” Ayala said. “Even the people you met at basic and never saw again, the ones whose names just are stuck in your head and the ones who even thought themselves your mor-

tal enemy. All the different personalities, you just don’t get over that” Her time in the army came to an end when she received an honorable discharge before deployed to Iraq, which she was not anticipating to receive at the time. “My unit had been called up expecting to deploy, and at the time I was expecting to get my deployment letters I got my honorable discharge,” Ayala said. “My life went on after that and I’m a teacher now.” Ayala attributes the army to building her self-esteem and changing her as a person. She brings up her experiences when discussing topics with her students where her Army stories come into context because there were times which were relatable with others. “I regretted going to the army at times when things got tough and you just want to leave but looking back at it now, I don’t regret it,” Ayala said. “Having to stick it out and go through those tough times, made me realize I can make it through anything.”