Photo By Sgt. Devin Davis | U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Erica Stanke, a student at the Defense Information...... read more read more
FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md – “It wasn’t even a 75, so I don’t know why I had to redo it,” U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Erica Stanke, a student at the Defense Information School on Fort Meade, Maryland, said with a look of disbelief on her face.
She was confident in the work she did and expected to get what she considered a good grade, but when grades were released, the outcome surprised her with different results. Nevertheless, it was almost an 80 and an assignment she wasn't interested in, so she was fine with just carrying on and doing better on the next assignment. It wasn’t until she was pulled to the back of the class and told to redo the assignment that she realized her instructors were going to challenge her to strive above standards in the course.
A great teacher has the potential to push their students to discover their strengths.
From the very beginning, when Stanke decided to join the Marine Corps, she knew she wanted to be a mass communicator. After meeting all the requirements at the military entrance processing station, she completed her time at the United States Marine Corps Recruit Training. Now she is grateful to have the opportunity to come to the Defense of Information School to train.
“I wanted this job because I always had an interest in photography and videography,” said Stanke. “I never had an interest in graphic design or writing. I thought I was done with that when I was in college, but it's a good thing I got to learn those. I definitely struggled a little bit in those areas, but I've always had a passion for photography and videography.”
One of the first unexpected challenges Stanke experienced in her Mass Communication Foundations course was during graphic design. Up until this part of the course Stanke had performed above average on all her assignments. That was until she was asked to redo her vector assignment after receiving a 79.5.
“It was definitely humbling. I just felt kind of stupid,” Stanke said. “But I definitely don't think you should feel stupid when something like that happens, you should just take it as an opportunity to do better.”
Stanke did a lot better on her second attempt, and though it wasn't that big of a deal to her instructors it was to her. She prides herself as somebody who wants to do things the right way. Yes, she was disappointed, but no she wasn’t defeated.
“But I’m happy I had to redo it because it made me learn the proper way and I improved my skills when it came to graphic design,” said Stanke. “I Feel that I had really incredible instructors who were always there for me and were always willing to help me with anything I needed. That is definitely another reason why I was so successful in the course.”
A bit of sarcasm and resentment resonated in her words, but the sparkle in her eyes and smile on her face reassured that some satisfaction came out of the challenge. Since vectoring, Stanke has done significantly well on all of her graphic design projects. Her instructors showed her different techniques they used to help improve her strategies when approaching the assignment. When she went to carry on in the course and do more graphic designs, she was much more successful.
“When I joined the Marine Corps, I wanted the challenge. I wanted to prove to myself and other people that I could do it,” said Stanke with a smile on her face. “I wanted to do something that none of my friends or people around me would consider doing. “I wanted to do something crazy and I did,”
Stanke discovered that she has really good time management skills. Multiple instructors have told her the way she carries herself and speaks will help her in the fleet. Even if she isn’t the best graphic designer, her interaction with others is her strength. Graduation is a bittersweet feeling for her. She will miss her class but is thankful for her instructors and excited to move on.
| Date Taken: | 03.08.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.22.2023 16:56 |
| Story ID: | 460714 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 356 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, How a Marine overcame adversity and raised standards, by SGT Devin Davis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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