Senior Graduates Early, Off To The Marines

By Aubrey Medina & Dania Navarrette

Before Pueblo High School student Jacob Amado develops “senioritis” next semester, he has decided to graduate early and begin a five-year military commitment in the United States Marines Corp.

Amado, still 17, will earn his high school diploma at the end of this semester and head off to “boot camp” for three months in San Diego, Calif., next month.

“I have been committed to the military since the end of my sophomore year,” Amado said. “I had a feeling two years ago that I wouldn’t be able to stay focused in college, so my decision to serve my country has been a wise one. I don’t want to waste any time or money in college when I’m still not sure what life career I want to pursue.”

After boot camp and a brief break, Amado said he will then be stationed in Virginia for approximately five months before finding out his next assignment which could involve guarding American embassies around the world and a few years of infantry.

“Nothing is as hard as you might think it is,” Amado said, advising his peers that they should never abandon their dreams no matter how challenging they may seem to be.

Amado worked especially hard this past semester to complete his high school credits early.

“The moment I committed to a future in the military, I stayed focused on completing this [Pueblo High School] chapter of my life,” he said.

Amado said that he does plan to attend the district’s ceremony for December 2023 graduates at Catalina High School so that he could officially have “closure” to this part of his life.

Although he said he will miss his family, friends, dogs and the “comforts of home”, Amado is eager to venture to boot camp on January 8, 2024.

“There will always be something [in Tucson] to return to,” he said, “but this [military commitment] is the next chapter of my life.”

[Amado is the grandson of campus monitor Ms. Nellie Rivera.]