Not long ago, the equipment I used on a daily basis included an M16-A4 service rifle, machine guns, and other weapons systems. I also trained constantly, in everything from engaging enemies in close-quarter battles to consistently hitting a target at 500 meters with my rifle. Things have changed a bit—now, the equipment that I operate daily are electron microscopes and furnaces, and my marksmanship evaluations consist of electron beam alignments. Although my path to graduate school is nontraditional, it shows that we are never too old to learn something new.

I enlisted in the Marine Corp as an infantryman when I was still in high school. Two days after my 2004 high school graduation—as most of my friends were relaxing before the start of their college lives—I boarded a bus to the Marine Corp Recruiting Depot (a.k.a., boot camp) in San Diego. It was less than a month after my 18^th birthday, but I was about to mature very quickly.