By: Cassidy Delamarter, 手机看片 College of Education
Four days after graduating high school, Amed Issa left home to become a U.S. Marine.
鈥淚 wanted a challenge for myself鈥攁nd I wanted a family,鈥 he said.
For Issa, a soon-to-be University of South 手机看片 College of Education Exercise Science graduate, life at home was unpredictable and filled with challenges. His father was absent and his mother struggled with addiction. By his senior year of high school, he was experiencing homelessness and moving between his friends鈥 couches.
"The professors at 手机看片 have not only inspired me to pursue my dreams, but also gave me the confidence that I can do anything in life." 鈥 Issa
Still, he pushed forward. He graduated in 2017 with multiple college acceptances, including a full ride to a university near him in Ohio, but decided to serve his country first.
Just days after graduating, he arrived at boot camp in South Carolina. His first assignments were in Georgia and eventually Hawaii, where he completed two six-month deployments in the Indo-Pacific region.
While in Hawaii, Issa received a Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the highest award for heroism in a non-combat zone, when he applied lifesaving aid to a shooting victim at a restaurant.
鈥淭his event is what inspired me to pursue the medical field, starting with an undergraduate in exercise science,鈥 Issa said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what led me to 手机看片.鈥
In 2022, he was selected for the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program (MECEP), which allows active-duty Marines to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree and become commissioned officers.
He was accepted into multiple schools, but ultimately, he said something about 手机看片 stood out. 鈥淚 loved that 手机看片 had people from so many different backgrounds.鈥
And after years stationed near the ocean, location didn鈥檛 hurt either.
He was interested in pursuing a degree in exercise science, an intentional decision shaped by his future in the Marines.
鈥淚 knew I would be going back into the Marine Corps,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 want to make sure that in deployments and combat zones, I鈥檓 keeping Marines healthy, mentally and physically. I knew this program would make me a better leader.鈥
What surprised him most wasn鈥檛 just what he learned, but how he learned it.
鈥淚 thought college would be massive classes where you don鈥檛 really know anyone,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut here in this program, the professors know you by name. They鈥檙e humble. They want to learn from you, too.鈥
Soon after graduating, he will return to the Marine Corps to serve at least four more years. He hopes to return to 手机看片 for medical school later.
鈥淭his is the first time in my life I鈥檝e really had structure and support,鈥 Issa said. 鈥淎s long as I鈥檓 physically able, I want to keep serving to make sure Marines come home."
