My name is Joseph Lehning, I enlisted in the Marine Corps at 17 years old in 2008 from Santa Rosa, California. I have served on both ends on the United States and abroad for eight consecutive years before departing the military. I am currently an Arizona State University student majoring in information technology with the hopes of eventually working in cybersecurity.
The military has shaped the individual I am today; generous, respectful, and stern. Qualities that I believe are essential in developing high caliber personal qualities we are seeing less of today. I would like to share a simple story of how I have used these qualities to make subtle differences throughout my life, whether volunteering in Africa, raising money for the hungry, or offering my time for simple services.
When we try and paint a picture of leadership, we are inspired and drawn toward grand scale gallant feats of accomplishment involving a major conflict and overcoming adversity. When I think of leadership, I think of simple principles. Leading by example and unselfishness are considered to be the cornerstone of leadership for myself. The reason I choose to focus on these principles is because when we think about the basics, we tend to avoid being drawn into a greater purpose and focus on ourselves and the people around us.
My most influential act of leadership took form less than a month ago in my calculus class. There was a young, fresh out of high-school, freshman male who was struggling with the in class assignment after the class was over. The room was nearly empty and as he sat with his hands on his head staring at a blank sheet of paper I inquired if he needed any help. After hearing my voice, he looked up trying to wipe away the sadness in his eyes and responded with a gracious “yes.” Without a second thought I pulled up a chair next to him and asked him to pull out his notes. We spent 30 minutes in an empty classroom going over the material to solve two problems. The outcome was his understanding of the material and a sense of accomplishment for myself.
I state this as a leadership example because it would be easy to cite being a Marine and being in combat, but it’s hard to actively involve yourself in a stranger’s life and benefit them without any gain. In combat you only have the men and women to the left and right of you and the stakes are laid out in black and white. Remove that situation and are we still leaders? Do we still look out for the men and women left and right of us even if we do not know them? In this scenario I made it a point to do just that.
We cannot forget that as prior service members, our service does not end. We can continuously provide a service. It was not long ago that I was in that same student’s shoes; struggling in class and wishing someone would help. Now that this individual knows they have the mental capacity to learn the material and excel, their confidence is going to surge and they may find themselves accomplishing more than they thought possible. This is what leaders do. They inspire the uninspired for unselfish reasons. Everyone has the ability to be a leader if we remove the desire for personal gain.
I would now like to explain a little about my service has shaped my current situation.
Through my life I have experienced many challenges like most of us have. The first and possibly most influential challenge was joining the Marine Corps. The decision alone was a heavy one for a 17-year-old leaving a single father. Through the better half of a decade I have seen much, and experienced plenty. I’m a little older, and a little wiser now thanks to my decision to serve. Yet, today I am faced with a new challenge. An unforeseen challenge I had not anticipated. Re-adapting to the life I left when I was 17 years old.
Today I do not have the steady employment I once had. Nor do I have the housing or meal plans arranged for me which was the task of some other Marine in another section of the unit. No, today I am a veteran living with his girlfriend and finally trying to find stability after moving everything I own in two seabags once a year for eight years. I took a leap of faith in myself abandoning the life I had become accustomed to in order to pursue my aspirations of developing a skillset in information technology vice handling explosives.
During this leap I did not foresee the transition to be so difficult. I am a capable, well-disciplined young male, yet I have no marketability. For someone with an explosives background who is seeking a career change in a field he is fairly unfamiliar with, I have no choice but to put all my faith in my ability to adapt to this new skill. I have made an investment in my education and for the next four years I will be unable to cash in on my talents.
Please do not let my FAFSA and tax return from a year we are no longer living in determine my eligibility. These figures are from when I was employed, when I had stability, and when I was providing for just myself. While I took a leap of faith so did my girlfriend. She has been with me for quite some time now and distance is nowhere near as difficult as our current situation. The last thing I would want to do is abandon my aspirations for a better future for the both of us in order to become a 25-year-old veteran that becomes an entry level worker for a dead end job.
I have always been a goal oriented individual.
First I wanted to join the military, then I wanted to excel in my field. After eight years I decided I wanted to focus on something outside of the job I was assigned. Since I realized my aspiration was to pursue a field in information assurance and my previous career in the military was not going to afford me the opportunity, I decided to take on this new journey head first. While I officially separated from the military, the service has taught me valuable skills such as prioritization, organization and discipline that I will continue to carry with me. These skills tied in with the Marine Corps 13 leadership traits define how conduct and apply myself.
I believe everything that defines a great leader can also be applied to producing a great student. A leader must first learn to follow, in this case I must learn and study my new field before I can be accomplished in it. Leaders need to be able to assess people and problems individually in order to generate the best result. These and many other complex, yet simple, examples related to problem solving and assessing situations are ingrained in who I am today.
My goals have always been at arm’s reach. I wanted to be a Marine, I did that. I wanted to excel above my peers, I did that. Now I that I have all these skills that make me a more enlightened person, all I need is this last piece of assistance so I can finally grab onto this new goal.
