WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass., -- Lauren Trembley shed 40 pounds getting in shape to ship out to Marine Corps recruit training.
Now the 22-year-old, Pittsfield, Mass., native is on recruiters’ assistance in Springfield, Mass., helping other people do the same thing – get fit.
After graduating from Taconic High School in 2008, Trembley spent some time in Italy working on farms, before landing a job with the State Department of Developmental Services in Massachusetts working with disabled people.
Trembley said the job was fulfilling, but she longed to attain the various intangible attributes found in people who serve in the military, and also get in shape.
“I called the Air Force and they basically turned me away because I was fat,” she said.
Trembley, then tried the Marine Corps. She could not enlist because she was overweight, but she met all the other requirements. The Marines allowed her to attend the physical training sessions they run as part of their Delayed Entry Program, a program designed to help prepare people for the rigors of recruit training.
“I started working with them and started dieting,” she said. “I did that on my own for about a year.”
Working with the Marines in the DEP, Trembley said she found a community of people who would not let her fail.
“I gave up on myself a lot of times,” she said. “It was the people around me who helped push me.
“Without the weekly motivation I probably would have failed and gone and done something else,” she said.
Trembley lost the weight. Now when she runs into family and past friends the change in her is instantly apparent.
“When I run into people that I used to work with, or stop at jobs that I used to work at they just immediately notice the change,” she said.
Now, for thirty days, Trembley will help prepare other people to earn the title Marine.
“I am looking forward to motivating them,” she said. “Especially if there are any ‘porky’ kids like I was.”