Photo By Alun Thomas | Lauren Sherzinger (left), stands with Sgt. Danielle Brown (right), recruiter, Catalina...... read more read more
PHOENIX – Growing up without a father figure could have been a severe impediment for Lauren Sherzinger, after her father left both herself and her mother at a young age.
But Sherzinger derived strength from this potential drawback and used it to her advantage, becoming self-sufficient and setting long-term goals for herself.
Sherzinger’s main goal is to become an officer in the U.S. Army, something which is within grasp following her acceptance into Officer Candidate School, following a board appearance at the Phoenix Recruiting Battalion headquarters, Sept. 27.
A native of Tucson, Arizona, Sherzinger said her childhood was a positive one, despite the absence of her father.
“I was raised by my mother, but I was always surrounded by family,” Sherzinger said. “I’m an only child, so my aunts and uncles served as my second parents. I always wanted a brother or sister and pestered my mother about it.”
Being a single child allowed Sherzinger to develop a sense of self-reliance however, which she would expound upon as she got older.
“Being by myself bought me a lot of opportunities. With just me and my mother, I had to think more for myself,” she said. “It taught me to stand my own ground and make a path of my own.”
Sherzinger excelled at sport during her years at Cienega High School, particularly in softball and volleyball.
“It opened a lot of doors for me and I was an All-State softball player, which bought about a lot of leadership aspects for me,” Sherzinger said. “Last year I played on the U of A (University of Arizona) women’s volleyball team which was exciting.”
The notion of joining the Army was a nominal one during her high school years, Sherzinger said, although she had flirted with the idea.
“It definitely had my interest and I had thought about it when recruiters came to my school, but I didn’t follow up,” she said. “I had some friends who did ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) and I regret I never did it.”
Several years later while in the process of completing her degree in Criminal Justice at the U of A, Sherzinger looked into the Army again and discovered a pathway to becoming an officer.
For her it was the next logical step, the difficult part was telling her mother about her plans.
“I knew that would be the hardest part … I had mentioned my interest in it to her before, so it was nothing new, but when I told her I was serious this time, she was definitely skeptical,” Sherzinger said. “She was scared, but I explained the whole process and it reassured her. She felt a lot more comfortable when I talked to her about the specifics.”
Sherzinger met with the recruiters at the Catalina Recruiting Station, who worked with her during the application process, leaving her to decide on a preferred branch.
“I ended up choosing Military Intelligence as my number one branch. After doing some research and trying to find something close to my college major, it was the best fit for me,” Sherzinger explained.
“My recruiters were professional and handled everything for me, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience,” she added.
The prospect of leading Soldiers and living the Army life is something that appeals to Sherzinger, who is relishing the opportunities ahead.
“I’m truly excited to follow in the footsteps of my relatives who served. To me serving is an honorable thing and I’m planning to make a career out of it,” she continued. “There’s so much time to excel and improve myself before I go to basic training and OCS.”
“I’m going to go there with an open mind and make the best of it, no matter how hard the situation,” Sherzinger said.
Through it all though, Sherzinger’s mother is the tie which binds everything together and has helped her get to this point.
“She’s been the biggest role model in my life. She always did the right things for me and never had me around anyone lesser than myself or her,” she said. “She bought me up the right way and I can’t wait to pay her back.”
| Date Taken: | 09.27.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.27.2018 18:03 |
| Story ID: | 294708 |
| Location: | PHOENIX, ARIZONA, US |
| Hometown: | TUCSON, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 531 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Tucson OCS candidate uses inner drive and determination to serve, by Alun Thomas, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
