I don’t really think I look like I’m in the military.  Most people in and outside of Baker seem surprised when I give that piece of information about myself.  Sometimes you can almost point military members out in public when they are not dressed in uniform by their style of clothing and hair.

Being a classic artist of sorts and with my passion for visual art and design, I don’t seem like the type of person who would sign and “solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the State of ‘Kansas’ against all enemies, foreign and domestic; … bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to law and regulations. So help me God.”

But I am. I am a student at Baker University, and I am an airman (rank enlisted-5, staff sergeant) in the Kansas Air National Guard.

My day-to-day routine is not so different than the routine of most students at Baker, with the exception of having a toddler and being married, but I still focus on what needs to be done for my classes. Except now I say, “what needs to be accomplished.”  Also, I sit up a little straighter and focus with full attention when a teacher or “person of authority” is speaking.

I address teachers and other Baker personnel as “sir” or “ma’am,” at least at first until they dismiss it.  I guess a few things have been broken down and built back up in my mannerisms and the way I address people.

Every weekend is not my own. Some weeks aren’t either.  As a guard member, I am required to be at drill the first full weekend of every month from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. So for the first two weeks of every month, I don’t get a day off while going to school full time.

In addition, we have to complete at least two weeks of active-duty training annually. I am also required to stay in shape and pass a physical fitness test every year or I could possibly get kicked out and lose the benefits I have earned, such as educational opportunities from the GI Bill.

The biggest difference that I have noticed as a student who went to college before joining the military and returned later is the way I view homework and work load. I view my homework as a representative of who I am and how well I am able to accomplish a task given to me.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to use the benefits I earned. I worked hard and spent months away from my loved ones so I could be trained and educated in my duties as an airman.  And now that I’ve sacrificed that time and distance,  I want to take full advantage of those benefits and further my education. In fact, I am more grateful for this opportunity than anything else the military has given me.

I have made a list of differences between being a student and an airman: