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    Marine Journalist attends SU, honored for service

    Marine Journalist attends SU, honored for service

    Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Abe McNatt | 150919-N-PJ969-231 SYRACUSE, N.Y. (Sep. 19, 2015) - Staff Sgt. Joseph DiGirolamo,...... read more read more

    SYRACUSE, NY, UNITED STATES

    10.05.2015

    Story by Sgt. Christopher O'Quin 

    1st Marine Corps District

    Thousands of Orange fans cheer from the stands inside The Carrier Dome during Syracuse University’s game against Central Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 19. However, it is not the players they are clapping for, but a student, a Marine wearing dress blues.

    Staff Sgt. Joseph L. DiGirolamo, Newhouse School’s Military Visual Journalism Program student and Public Affairs Specialist stood with his family on the field just outside the SU End zone, as the school honored his service for their annual Hometown Hero Ceremony. DiGirolamo spent the rest of the game with his family, shaking hands with SU alumni and staff, clutching an autographed football from SU hall of famer Floyd Little.

    The choosing of such an honor was not taken lightly and his nomination came from someone who knew the caliber of character DiGirolamo bears.

    “When the Vice Chancellor’s Office asked for a nominee from the Newhouse School’s Military Visual Journalism Program, I knew that I wanted to recommend an accomplished and hard-working leader who had been deployed,” said Nancy Joan Austin, the deputy director of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications who has been with the program since 1992. “I looked at the most senior people first, and [DiGirolamo] quickly rose to the top of the list. Joseph is also a native of Gloversville, N.Y., and grew up an Orange fan. So, besides being an SU student, he’s also a hometown guy.”

    This Hometown Hero program started last year at Syracuse University. The honor is bestowed on a deserving military member at the SU home football games. DiGirolamo is the first selectee from the Military Visual Journalism Program.

    “I appreciate that [DiGirolamo] is our senior class member. He’s a good leader. When the leader is strong, it reflects on the entire class,” added Austin. “When there is a weak class leader, the class, as a whole, suffers. He has a sense of good judgment. That’s something that cannot be taught.”

    Just a year ago, DiGirolamo, was on the other side of the globe serving with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard ship, now he is stateside studying journalism at one of the top schools in the nation. All the roads and choices that have led him to this moment in his life stem from his decision to serve his country 11 years ago.

    “The Marines were simply the toughest looking, most elite group of men and women wearing a badass uniform,” said DiGirolamo, a native of Gloversville, N.Y. “I admired the commercials and I felt like taking on the challenge of enlisting. Slaying the lava monster, climbing the impossible cliff and magically donning the dress blues at the summit were inspiring to me.”

    DiGirolamo left for recruit training January 2004 and graduated boot camp in Parris Island, S.C. three months later a private first class. After combat training he attended the Defense Information School at Fort George G. Meade, Md. where he learned the basics of writing and photography.

    “The first day at school, the instructors told us about the job of taking photos and writing stories,” said DiGirolamo. “When I heard we had to do a lot of writing, I was like crap, I hate writing. But it turned out to be one of the best decisions in my life and I love this job.”

    As a Public Affairs Marine, his job is to tell the story of the Corps to the public. Through photography, writing and multimedia he can best express the experience of being a Leatherneck. From infantrymen on patrols to pilots in the sky he and his fellow combat correspondents share their stories as today’s news and tomorrow’s history.

    During his career, he has served as a combat correspondent with the I Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Pendleton, California. He also deployed with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment to Ramadi, Iraq in 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2007, he reported to Marine Corps Recruiting Station Albany, New York, as the Recruiting Station’s marketing and Public Affairs representative. A tour that put him close to home.

    His other previous duties include Video Skills Instructor at the Defense Information School, Fort Meade, Maryland, from 2010-2013. He served overseas in Okinawa, Japan, as the a Plans and Operations Chief for the III Marine Expeditionary Force and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Public Affairs Chief from 2013-2015.

    Maj. Garron Garn, his former officer-in-charge during his tour with the 31st MEU, flew from Virginia to pay respects to his former public affairs chief and catch up on old times during the football game.

    “He is one of the best Marines I’ve had the pleasure of serving with,” said Garn. “Within two months of him taking charge as PA chief he had already surpassed his predecessor in every way. I had the pleasure of helping him submit his paperwork to attend Syracuse. He had to finish his tour early to attend Newhouse but a course like this really benefits him and the Corps.”

    DiGirolamo’s philosophy and work ethic are tied to a servant work ethic. The Syracuse Military Journalism program carries benefits both academic and career, however he views it as secondary.

    “I only went to this course with the intent to give back what I learned here,” said DiGirolamo. “To the Marines I have privilege of leading or guiding in the future, I can teach them, help them be better journalists. Because at the stage in my career I am in, you are at a managerial, supervisory level. It’s the only way I can justify making this transition.”

    The course will challenge DiGirolamo. Two semesters full of 400-level courses pertaining in everything from lighting and composition, to writing and multimedia will give him the capabilities to enrich the way the Corps reports life in garrison at home or deployed in land far from home.

    Only the best and creative correspondents are afforded the opportunity to attend Newhouse. His honoring at the game further distinguishes DiGirolamo from his peers. With Marines like him leading and nurturing the future of his occupation, the Corps has much to benefit for many years to come.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 10.05.2015
    Date Posted: 10.05.2015 18:05
    Story ID: 178191
    Location: SYRACUSE, NY, US
    Hometown: GLOVERSVILLE, NY, US

    Web Views: 83
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN