Photo By Sgt. Pedro Cardenas | Poolee Olivia Assi poses at Recruting SubStation Carlisle days before she is scheduled...... read more read more
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PITTSBURGH - Maj. Gen. Angela Salinas once said, “We [the Marine Corps] want young, bright, hard-charging, good kids. We want your best students who are thinking about going to college and are trying to find the right way.” Some people are destined to be Marines and fit the mold perfectly.
Like, Poolee Olivia Assi, who is scheduled to ship off to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., with the goal to become a United States Marine.
Assi graduated from South Western High School in Hanover, Pennsylvania, in June 2014. She graduated with a 3.7 GPA. Her curriculum was more rigorous than normal after she took mostly honors and advanced placement level classes. Some of her extra-curricular activities included the National Honor Society, where she served vice-president.
After graduation, she went on to major in Exercise Science and Nutrition at Harrisburg Area Community College (Gettysburg Campus), but found out that she wanted to do something else, enlisting in the Marine Corps in particular.
“I want to be the best,” said Assi, a poolee with Recruiting Sub-Station Carlisle, Recruiting Station Pittsburgh. “I wanted the challenge and want to earn the title [Marine].”
At 5 feet 6 inches, Assi is not only smart, but also the most physically fit female poolee from RSS Carlisle’s Delayed Entry Program.
“At first, I was terrible because it was the first time I had ever done it,” said 18-year-old Assi, speaking about her athletic past as a competitive swimmer. “But then, I kept working on it and, by senior year, I became the team captain and one of the better swimmers.”
Assi is also a gifted athlete on land; running 1.5 miles in 11 minutes and 40 seconds, performing five pull ups and 94 crunches.
However, even with her intelligence and physical abilities, her best attributes are her leadership and hard-work ethic.
“People that join the Marine Corps are not only looking to serve their county but also earning the title Marine, because it’s a greater challenge, mentally and physically,” said Staff Sgt. Jesse R. Stence, staff noncommissioned officer in charge of RSS Carlisle, RS Pittsburgh. “She is somebody who is never satisfied and is always looking for advice from the recruiters to improve herself."
“She is the ideal candidate to become a United States Marine,” said Stence, a Rochester, N.Y., native. “She believes in earning the title Marine and that is what sets the Marine Corps apart.”
Assi is scheduled to ship off to recruit training on Dec. 15 and other than graduating recruiting training, she has one goal in mind.
“I want to be the honor graduate [from recruit training],” said Assi. “That is my goal right now, I want to be the very best and it will also help me learn how to lead better.”
Assi originally requested information about the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps and wanted to use that scholarship to earn a college degree and, subsequently, commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. After sitting down with a recruiter, she made it obvious that she wanted to be a Marine sooner rather than later; she decided to enlist instead.
“It was clear that she wanted to be a Marine for all the right reasons,” said 29-year-old Stence. “She wants to be a leader and she displays leadership in everything that she does.”
Assi was rewarded with the occupational specialty she originally wanted - intelligence - and an earlier ship date because of her strong application with high scores in multiple categories and her leadership ability.
“That kind of leadership is a perfect fit for the Marine Corps because, in every level of leadership, iron sharpens iron,” said Stence. “Great leadership at the lower levels inspires others and you owe it to each other to make each other better.”
| Date Taken: | 12.11.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.11.2014 13:54 |
| Story ID: | 150081 |
| Location: | CARLISLE, PA, US |
| Hometown: | CARLISLE, PA, US |
| Hometown: | HANOVER, PA, US |
| Hometown: | ROCHESTER, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 698 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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