Dmitriy
Active Member
Hello everyone!
I'm new here so I figure I'd take the time to introduce myself. I'm Dmitriy and I was born in Russia. I've been living in the States for over half of my life and a year and a half ago I finally got my American citizenship, which to me meant that being an officer in the Armed Forces could be something more than a pipe dream. This past May I graduated from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.
My freshman year I briefly entertained the idea of joining the NROTC program at CMU - we didn't have Army or AF, so Navy won by default. I talked to the Btn. Commander about my peculiar situation - how I wouldn't be able to receive any money for it or a commission at the end. In the end I decided against it, dismissing the idea as youthful and naive infatuation with the uniform and, perhaps, residual effect of the stress associated with adjusting to college.
Instead of joining the ROTC program I joined CMU's rowing team. I have to say I fell in love with the sport. Over the years I went on to become the varsity captain. I never regretted abandoning the idea of doing NROTC. I have to confess I quietly smiled to myself knowing that the crew trained EVERY day at 0500 while the mids thought themselves tough sh!t for running PT at 0530 Monday-Wednesday-Friday.
Over the summers I'd be working full-time internships in architecture firms. The daily grind that was the topic of "discussion" among my co-workers in the break room felt like a vacation compared to what I'd go back to in late August. I completed two degrees (one in Architecture and another in International Relations), both of them with honors, in the time it took most of my classmates to finish one. I also worked 2 jobs. And I trained. Six days a week. 0500. I think for the past five years I averaged no more than 5 hours of sleep per night.
It was around this time a year ago that the question of what to do with my life after college came up. I had realized that I did not enjoy any of the internships I had, that I really did not want to work in the industry for which I was preparing. It was then that one of my thesis advisers suggested that I look into the intel communities. She had a lot of contacts in all branches, including the Firm, but especially with Navy intel. She put me in touch with an IDC officer by the name of Cdr.James Adkisson (I know, no names, but I want to give credit where credit is due). We had a long and interesting talk around December of 2012 and his parting words were "I hope to see you in the IDC soon, or in uniform, at least." I think that conversation really turned me back onto the path of seeking a commission.
I still had my thesis project to wrap up so I didn't have the time to really concentrate on preparing a package. I did have time to evaluate myself and what I wanted a little more. I ended up putting Civil Engineer Corps as my first designator, followed by IDC, and aviation. I submitted my package for August 6th board, and now await results.
Time goes on and student loans and bills, as they say here in the City of Champions, "need paid." I took on a job as an architectural consultant, got an apartment, bought a car. I started coaching the team I used to row for as well. I'm getting comfortable with my situation, I feel my resolve to become a Navy officer begin to slip a bit. Don't get me wrong, it is still the thing I want the most, and the thing I honestly believe I would be best applied at. Until two nights ago I would say "I dream of being a Navy officer" figuratively. Now I can say I've LITERALLY dreamed of being a Navy officer. That being said, I feel like back in May, if I got a call from the recruiter saying "OCS wants you there on Monday" without hesitation I would say "I'm there!" Now I feel like I'd have to think about it.
The reason I joined AW is to communicate with like-minded people, some who are going through what I'm going through, others who have already done it, and most importantly to keep my fire burning! (If you made it this far, thanks for reading)
I'm new here so I figure I'd take the time to introduce myself. I'm Dmitriy and I was born in Russia. I've been living in the States for over half of my life and a year and a half ago I finally got my American citizenship, which to me meant that being an officer in the Armed Forces could be something more than a pipe dream. This past May I graduated from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.
My freshman year I briefly entertained the idea of joining the NROTC program at CMU - we didn't have Army or AF, so Navy won by default. I talked to the Btn. Commander about my peculiar situation - how I wouldn't be able to receive any money for it or a commission at the end. In the end I decided against it, dismissing the idea as youthful and naive infatuation with the uniform and, perhaps, residual effect of the stress associated with adjusting to college.
Instead of joining the ROTC program I joined CMU's rowing team. I have to say I fell in love with the sport. Over the years I went on to become the varsity captain. I never regretted abandoning the idea of doing NROTC. I have to confess I quietly smiled to myself knowing that the crew trained EVERY day at 0500 while the mids thought themselves tough sh!t for running PT at 0530 Monday-Wednesday-Friday.
Over the summers I'd be working full-time internships in architecture firms. The daily grind that was the topic of "discussion" among my co-workers in the break room felt like a vacation compared to what I'd go back to in late August. I completed two degrees (one in Architecture and another in International Relations), both of them with honors, in the time it took most of my classmates to finish one. I also worked 2 jobs. And I trained. Six days a week. 0500. I think for the past five years I averaged no more than 5 hours of sleep per night.
It was around this time a year ago that the question of what to do with my life after college came up. I had realized that I did not enjoy any of the internships I had, that I really did not want to work in the industry for which I was preparing. It was then that one of my thesis advisers suggested that I look into the intel communities. She had a lot of contacts in all branches, including the Firm, but especially with Navy intel. She put me in touch with an IDC officer by the name of Cdr.James Adkisson (I know, no names, but I want to give credit where credit is due). We had a long and interesting talk around December of 2012 and his parting words were "I hope to see you in the IDC soon, or in uniform, at least." I think that conversation really turned me back onto the path of seeking a commission.
I still had my thesis project to wrap up so I didn't have the time to really concentrate on preparing a package. I did have time to evaluate myself and what I wanted a little more. I ended up putting Civil Engineer Corps as my first designator, followed by IDC, and aviation. I submitted my package for August 6th board, and now await results.
Time goes on and student loans and bills, as they say here in the City of Champions, "need paid." I took on a job as an architectural consultant, got an apartment, bought a car. I started coaching the team I used to row for as well. I'm getting comfortable with my situation, I feel my resolve to become a Navy officer begin to slip a bit. Don't get me wrong, it is still the thing I want the most, and the thing I honestly believe I would be best applied at. Until two nights ago I would say "I dream of being a Navy officer" figuratively. Now I can say I've LITERALLY dreamed of being a Navy officer. That being said, I feel like back in May, if I got a call from the recruiter saying "OCS wants you there on Monday" without hesitation I would say "I'm there!" Now I feel like I'd have to think about it.
The reason I joined AW is to communicate with like-minded people, some who are going through what I'm going through, others who have already done it, and most importantly to keep my fire burning! (If you made it this far, thanks for reading)
