Photo By Cpl. Isaac Orozco | U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Sucik, an Engineman with Headquarters and...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan – “Life’s all about finding a meaning in the job you do, the work you do, the hobbies you do. If you’re not trying to find a meaning then I would ask, why are you doing what you are doing?” This is what U.S. Navy Petty Officer Third Class Christian Sucik said to himself during a tumultuous time in his life as a teenager. At this point in his childhood, he was a drifter with a mischievous mindset. Despite this, Sucik was a boy with big ambitions and something to prove, both are things he carried into his adulthood and career. Now, instead of dreaming about his ambitions, Sucik is making them a reality by balancing his job at MCAS Iwakuni’s harbor as a Engineman, and a music career which he hopes he can inspire people just like how he was once influenced.
Sucik, a native of Las Vegas, Nevada, has had some aspects of his life set against him from the very beginning. Growing up, his parents worked in off-track betting in which they would have a wide range of people calling in to bet on horses and his parents would assist them by punching tickets for the customers or cashing in for clients who had won. It was because of this however, they would have to move multiple times because of some unfortunate incidents with a few of their clients.
“My childhood was a little different because we would move 12-13 times because of mixups with the IRS,” Sucik said. “Sometimes the people my parents were working for wouldn't pay their taxes or maybe the players themselves were not paying their taxes and as you would imagine that caused a lot of complications down the road for us.”
Sucik would move from state to state and school to school across the country. Each time he would have to find a new group of friends. This caused him to feel isolated and alone, but at the same time, this hardship shaped him to become more adaptable to new situations as an adult.
“Every 6 months or year I would have to pick up, move and find a whole new group of friends,” Sucik said. “I got used to it eventually but that also taught me some very important lessons as a kid such as how to adapt quickly and not dwell on the past because there was really no time to.”
As he grew older and made his way into different high schools, Sucik was causing trouble as he surrounded himself with a few bad influences. He recalls a certain stunt he pulled at this time period which caused his life to change forever.
“I really was hanging out with the wrong crowd in high school and we were in a store and we, being teenage boys, just said amongst ourselves ‘let's just take some stuff, nobody would know’,” Sucik said. “There I was with my bright yellow Pittsburgh Pirates hat taking some candy bars and thinking I was the baddest man around. I passed them all out to the other students and sure enough, two class periods later the principal calls my class and says ‘Can the kid in the bright yellow Pittsburgh Pirate hat please come down to the office?’”
When Sucik made his way down to the principal's office he came face to face with his mother and the school principal and knew from that moment he was in more trouble than he had ever been in before.
After a very long talk with his parents, they decided to have him move with his grandmother in Missouri to finish high school and instill discipline within Sucik. This was the turning point in Sucik’s life.
“It was a blessing in disguise.” Said Sucik. “My grandma was and still is my greatest tutor. She reiterated the same things to me my parents did about growing up and succeeding constantly. I really didn't want to be the guy to let my entire family down or even be homeless that young. I decided from that day forward that it's time to grow up.”
Sucik then decided to join the U.S. Navy in November of 2020 and challenged himself to be a better person than he previously was. After his initial training had finished he found himself at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni’s harbor, working as an engineman. His daily duties include operating, servicing, and repairing Navy ships and small crafts.
Sucik found it easy to adapt to his new work and environment, although he says sometimes he does not feel like the typical engineman in the Navy.
“Engineman are typically gruff, tough and no-nonsense if a job is on the table,” Sucik said. “However they are also very honest, hardworking, and very willing to teach and give information where it's due. Although I'm personally very new to it, I feel I am able to adapt very quickly and strive under the initial pressure for success and do what I got to do.”
His passion for his work is noticed by his superiors, U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Martin Ramos, Senior Engineman at MCAS Iwakuni’s Harbor, gave insight about Sucik’s work ethic as an Engineman.
“He’s a great sailor and one I would want to keep in,” said Ramos about Sucik. “When it comes to learning he’s really a stud and he finds it really easy to adapt and learn new things. He’s very humble and respectful when explaining things and honestly, he’s one of my go-to guys when I need the job to get done.”
Sucik has since gone on to win H&HS, MCAS Iwakuni, Blue Jacket of the Year in 2022 and continues to provide those under him assistance and advice whenever he is needed.
Although Sucik’s entire work ethos and personality has changed since he was young, he still holds onto a passion he’s had since he was in school. When he’s off work he devotes his free time as a part-time musician which he says he got his inspiration from a fellow classmate.
“In some schools I was an outcast. I didn't have a lot of friends and I wasn’t very popular due to moving all the time,” Sucik said, “However, I remember I was at a pep rally in freshman year and a girl went up on stage and just rapped. Everybody that was sitting down just rushed to the stage. I was just in awe, it was a crazy experience.”
After seeing someone else his age take a chance, he decided to take an opportunity for himself and talk to the principal of the school about performing for the next school pep rally.
“I went to the principal and said ‘Do you think I can perform anytime soon?' and he said yes but with a few conditions,” Sucik said. “He said ‘No cussing during the song and just make sure its school appropriate.’ I went to work and made a song called ‘Hey Seneca High’ and from there I just stuck with it.”
Sucik says that music for him was something that helped him balance his emotions as a teenager, and something that was influential to him growing up.
“I use music as an outlet to talk about my feelings or to get rid of stressors and it has played a huge part in helping me in my later teens.” Sucik said. “It helps me so much with anger, sadness, grief and building my confidence. Now that I'm an adult, it's really second nature and even as an old man I want to be involved in it even if it's as small as keeping up with new artists.”
Sucik still keeps his passion well and healthy today by putting out music under his artist name as “Kidgod” and performing at different venues even while being stationed at MCAS Iwakuni.
With more self-confidence and experience doing what he loves, he wants to keep pursuing a perfect balance between being a model sailor and being the successful artist he strives to be.
“If I'm still in the Navy five years from now I hope to find a balance between both sides of myself,” said Sucik. “Even if I am on a ship I'll still find time to do it. If I'm not in the Navy then I'm going to have a setup to make music every day and send it to producers to get it mixed. Then hopefully I'll build a repertoire in any city I'm in and just go from there.”
With the balance between the two careers he has set up for himself stable and his ambition materializing into reality, Sucik hopes to inspire those who were like him at one point with both his work ethic and music.
“For someone in my similar situation I would say to them give yourself an outlet and stick with it." Sucik said. “Don't doubt yourself, the hardest part about pursuing your passion is having self-confidence which everyone struggles with. As long as you can find it in yourself to know your value and put forth an effort into something that you think you would really be good at, you'll succeed.”
| Date Taken: | 12.23.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 12.22.2022 20:39 |
| Story ID: | 435821 |
| Location: | IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP |
| Web Views: | 203 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Adaptability is key: U.S. Navy engineer reflects on upbringing, self-interests, career, by Cpl Isaac Orozco, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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