Motivated Sailor, Harvard Grad Student, Servant Leader

QUINCY, MA, UNITED STATES

04.22.2017

Courtesy Story

Commander, Navy Reserve Force   

What drives this dedicated servant leader? As his story unfolds we see his love of family, a deep faith in God and a strong sense of service are what shape him and keep him focused on his ultimate goal to go back to his native country of Columbia and work in public service.

Restrepo followed the usual course most sailors do, by attending boot camp, “A” school, serving on deployments. What really makes what his story so extraordinary are the details behind how he accomplished these tasks and how he came to attend one of the most prestigious schools in our country’s history.

Restrepo was born in Queens, New York, but raised in Cali, Columbia; his parents’ native hometown. At 17 he moved back to the United States alone and lived with a family friend. That is when he decided to join the Navy and on January 5th, 2009 he left for Basic Training.

Boot camp wasn’t easy for a kid from Columbia who hardly knew any English. “The language barrier has always been an issue,” he said. “One time they were yelling at me and I had no idea what they were saying, then I looked at another recruit and he pointed to my shirt that was un-tucked so I figured it out,” he said. Memorization, mimicking word sounds and with the help of fellow recruits is what got him through and he graduated. “Some people got delayed and they stayed like two extra months,” he said, “but I didn’t have to go through that. I was good enough I guess,” he chuckled, “And I thank God for that.”

Times were tough for Restrepo growing up in Cali and there weren’t a lot of resources, but his parents always instilled in him the importance of academics. He recalled, “My father always said my children would start wherever the parents ended. That is the standard.” With both of his parents being professors and holding their master’s degrees he knew that his first goal would be to complete his graduate degree. “That stuck with me all my life,” he said. “It was something to achieve, something to look up to. And I will pass that on to my children and eventually the next generation will be even more blessed than the previous generation.”

Listening to his stories instantly gives a sense of the type of man and Sailor Restrepo is. “I paid for my mom’s master’s degree while I was in ‘A’ school so all my paychecks went to her,” he recalled. Before his deployment he brought his fiancé to the States from Columbia. They got married and after she received her green card he helped her start her bachelor’s degree. He now helps pay for her master’s degree.

“His whole story embodies the American dream,” said Executive Officer at NOSC Quincy, Lieutenant Joseph Mantz. “Here’s someone who came from Columbia to the United states and learns the language, joins the U.S. Navy, and not only does that but excels and takes opportunities to get an undergraduate degree and then get a master’s degree from one of the most exclusive colleges in the U.S.” He added, “Restrepo sees the American dream, he sees what this country has to offer and captures it.”

Not only is he a driven scholar, but also a faithful member and volunteer at his church. Restrepo’s faith in God has been a huge influence. His strong religious beliefs are part of what brought him to apply to Harvard, a university with strong Christian origins. “In my church about half the people go to Harvard. So I got motivated to see if I could. I took a couple classes and a couple tests and I got in, thank God,” he said.
His sense of service is evident in his accomplishments as a missionary. Restrepo and his wife both spearheaded a campaign in May 2016 to assist a group of small villages in Columbia that had been devastated by drought. “About 3,000 kids had died due to malnutrition and dehydration since 2011,” Restrepo explained.

They raised around $8,000 working with local churches and organizations to purchase food, water and school supplies. “We drove into the desert, twelve hours straight dirt, because there were no roads to deliver the supplies to the children in the villages. That was a lot of fun,” he said.

The Navy also played a big role in getting Restrepo to Harvard. “When I got here and the Navy said they were going to pay for school, I thought, ok so I have to get out and then go to school?” he remembered. That’s when he first learned about the Tuition Assistance Program. “They said no, you can use TA. I’m like so you’re going to pay me a salary and send me to school? For me this was a huge benefit and I had to take advantage of it,” he said.

This was a mind blowing opportunity that Restrepo could not pass up, so he got right to it. In 2012, he was stationed aboard the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109). Through several deployments to places like the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and off the coast of Somalia, he started to work towards his bachelor’s degree in leadership online.

It was no easy feat, but with the encouragement of his Commanding Officer, Captain Sciretta, he pushed through. “I remember standing the watch at two in the morning and then doing homework,” he said, “But I focused on what my CO told me, he said just do one class at a time and eventually you will finish so that’s what I did.”

After serving on the USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) he was transferred to NOSC Quincy, where his dedication. His dedication and sense of duty shine through his work as the Training Leading Petty Officer (LPO) and Operations LPO Leading Petty Officer, as well being the vice president of the First Class Petty Officers Association (FCPOA), and as the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Coordinator.

Chief Petty Officer Phillip Woods, Senior Enlisted Leader NOSC Quincy, said, “He is very determined and has some of the most impressive drive I’ve ever seen,” he added, “He’s received the Sailor of Quarter award a few times and has been competitive every year for the Sailor of the Year award.”

With his sights set on putting in his application package to become an officer after graduation in December, there are no breaks for Restrepo.

“To continue in the Harvard program you have to maintain a B average or you will get lost,” he explained, “which means a lot of studying.”
On a typical day, Restrepo goes from work, to school and then home to study. “I give one hundred percent at work, do as much as I can to support as much as I can, then as soon as I get out leave here of here I go to school and start class right away. I literally sometimes take my uniform off when I get to school,” he said. “This has been my same schedule for the past 8 years now, the same for my wife,” he added. “All we do is study because this is such a big opportunity for us.”

He said his favorite part of being a Harvard student is networking. “Everyone you meet is amazing,” he said. In the summers he attends the Executive Program through the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. “Last summer I took a class in leadership and we had about 40 students from all over the world. Congressmen from Mexico, Uganda, the UN, business millionaires from Germany, the right hand man of the Queen of Morocco, big, big people. We have a lot of fun. We stay in the Business School, live together, eat together for a whole week. The GI Bill paid for it.” he beamed. “It was great. I was the leader of the class so I took them all around Boston and we still keep in touch, so it was really great.”
So how does he balance it all? It takes an immense amount of dedication and focus. His passion and perseverance come from his strong faith in God, the importance his parents instilled in him to get a good education and the opportunities and experiences the Navy has given him. This along with his dreams of one day returning to Columbia to effect change for his people there are what keep him going each day.

When asked what his advice is to shipmates who want to pursue their degrees and may also aspire to attend a distinguished school like Harvard, Restrepo states, “Look beyond the Navy. Whatever you do now will determine your future. Take advantage of the benefits offered to you. Don’t let them go to waste. Whatever long term goals you have, work towards them one class at a time.”

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• Date Taken: 04.22.2017
• Date Posted: 04.22.2017 23:56
• Story ID: 231241
• Location: QUINCY, MA, US
• Hometown: CALI, CO
• Hometown: QUEENS/NEW YORK, NY, US