Well its long story, just to give you some back round that will come into play later I was born and raised America but I’m half Iranian half white.
When I first I applied two years ago, it was when started to turn my life around. I began college at the University of Iowa; starting out real strong in the college of engineering. Then my sophomore year I started to work, party while going to school. As a result my grades slipped a little but not much. I went from a 3.5 to about a 3.1, which I thought isn’t to bad considering I was working 30hrs a week, taking 14 hrs of engineering classes and partying 4 nights a week. Well I decided to do an internship at Maytag Appliances for a year to take a break from school. The internship just gave me more money than I knew what to do with. I was 20 making around $16 per hour ($2,800 per month) and on top of that working over time, which made it more like $3,500 per month. 3 months into my internship I ended getting a OWI for moving my car to the other side to avoid a parking ticket in morning (I had already racked up over $40 the next one they would have toed my car). The cop pulled me over for doing a U turn, plus Iowa City, Iowa being the highest OWI rate per capita in the U.S. ; I should of known better than to role dice in this town.
This was my wake up call to turn my life around, I started looking for career that I would really want to do, because I knew after my internship I didn’t want to sit in a cubicle all day writing code as an Electrical Engineer. So, that’s when I turned to the Navy and just knew instantly that being in jet was for me, couldn’t get enough of the discovery channel, plus I’m an adrenaline junky and love speed. I didn’t have 20/20 vision, which made me go NFO. I applied only 4 months after I got the OWI, and was turned down but they told me it was due to my downward trend in my grade point and the OWI on my record (This was in early 2001 before 9/11). That rejection didn’t turn me away but instead made me more determined to get in.
After 9/11 I finished my internship, I went back to school set on changing my GPA around and proving my self. Only a 1 ½ into the semester my father ended up dieing a civilian plane crash when he was on a business trip in Iran (my parents have been separated since I was kid, my father was living over sees). My father’s death hit me like tone of bricks since it was so unexpected. Plus now I had a difficult decision, I could choose to not to pass my EPSQ and go to my father’s funeral in Iran or stay so I could still be an eligible candidate. After a week of thinking about it I decided to stay and keep pursuing a career in the Navy.
The following semesters I did very well getting 3.4 to 3.3 with 18hr course loads. I went ahead and reapplied and managed to start a business in the meantime. But issues still came up, ever since my fathers death I had to go through long ugly process of collecting his estate from hear in America. The Iranian government required me to apply for an Iranian passport, to have ability to pass the power of attorney to someone to collect the estate in my name. Due to the current tensions between the U.S. and Iran the Navy didn’t like the idea of me having that passport. They told me they wouldn’t make a decision unless I get rid of it. I already skipped my own father’s funeral just so I could still have a shot, and they wanted me to give up his estate not knowing I was even accepted. I told them; that was unacceptable. If they rejected me again I would be basically left with no career or anything to fall back on. But I still was determined to get in so I reached compromise with them; I would relinquish my passport before I graduated from college if they accepted me, give me sometime to collect some of his estate but not everything. Next thing I know, one week later I was told that I was just professionally recommended and probably a 95% chance that I’d get in.
Just hoping that nothing else comes up, and I’m officially accepted in the next couple weeks, like I said it’s been long road. But if something else comes up I wouldn’t be surprised.
