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These seniors are doing more than going to college classes next year; they’ll be representing Dexter in the armed forces
By Alex Strang
The majority of students at DHS upon graduation will attend a four-year college and then either go get further education or enter the civilian workforce. A few seniors from the class of 2017 feel a greater calling. Whether they want free college, a more exciting job, or to serve their country, these three seniors felt a calling to join the military.
Jeff Zeichner is enlisting in the Marine Corps, and he will leave Dexter for Parris Island in early 2018. “I want to be in for around eight years and make the rank of sergeant,” said Zeichner, whose stepfather was a marine for eight years. He plans to be a combat engineer which consists of providing support for infantry, doing construction, and demolishing buildings, bridges, and other objects. Part of Zeichner’s job in the Marines will involve welding, a trade that Zeichner plans to pursue when he get outs of the military. “I was going to be a welder, but I want to be in combat, so I know I am doing my part. And I’ve always wanted to serve our country.” He wants to eventually get deployed to a combat zone.
Jordan McGinnis will be attending the United States Naval Academy. McGinnis will have less than one month of summer vacation because she leaves for Induction Day on June 29th. Induction Day will mark McGinnis’s first day in the military and the beginning of plebe summer, where she will surrender her belongings for 6 weeks of training. There, she will be transformed from a civilian into a midshipman. She is majoring in political science with an international focus, and she hopes to learn Mandarin as well. “I’ve wanted to attend a service academy since middle school, and it’s been a goal of mine to fly since then too,” McGinnis said. Her father was a pilot in the Marine Corps before becoming an airline pilot. The selection for pilots in the military is rigorous, but McGinnis has been getting a head start. She already has her pilot’s license and more than 65 hours of flight time. McGinnis has a bright future as a naval officer and aviator ahead of her.
Max Kleinheinz is going to the University of Cincinnati on an Air Force ROTC scholarship and will be majoring in aerospace engineering. Kleinhenz hopes to become a pilot or an engineer in the Air Force. “When I visited Cincinnati, the people in the ROTC program seemed really cool, and it will be good to be in a community of like-minded people,” Kleinhenz said. He wants to go into the Air Force because he will get to experience cool things, have his college tuition payed for, and serve his country. “It’ll be way more exciting than what I’d be doing in the private sector, he said. “When I have a job after college I want to be doing something meaningful.” Kleinhenz’s ultimate goal is one day to be deployed at an Air Force base somewhere outside of the United States.
A note from the writer
I will be going to Michigan State University on an Army ROTC scholarship. I am majoring in finance and minoring in Arabic. My goal is to become an infantry officer and go on active duty for four to eight years. My father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all in the military which piqued my interest at a young age.
I really like everything about Michigan State and Spartan Battallion which is why I chose the school. I am joining the military becasue I want to serve my country and have a sense of purpose with what I do after college. The army has always sounded fun to me and I think there’s experiences you can get in the military that you can’t get anywhere else.
The Dexter High School Class of 2017 will have students representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. One day, these Dreadnaughts will be pilots and engineers stationed all over the world protecting our freedom. I am happy to be among this group.
