With the school year ending, most seniors are either planning for college or shifting job schedules from part-time to full-time. Through all this madness of graduation, the majority of people overlook the few brave students who will be leaving Perry, their family, and their friends to serve our country.

“To be honest, my son is going into the military and we should acknowledge those people…This summer when you guys are on the salt river, those guys are going to be in basic training somewhere,” Principal Dan Serrano states on recognizing these few students.

Ten seniors this year have ended their years of high school knowingly partake in military. Out of the group, the gender of two sets them apart from all the rest. Clarissa Mews and Taylor McLeod are the only females of the 2016 senior class to have actively enlisted in the military. Although the two are entering different military fields, Mews the U.S. Army National Guard as an Intelligence Analyst and McLeod in the U.S. Air Force Reserves for Traffic Management. While they are in separate branches, they are both breaking the social mold for women as well as helping change the image of the American Military.

“National Guard…serves your state. All the other branches are all shipped out, [deployed], but National Guard is the most in this actual country. I will be enlisted for six years, but I will only be full time, as in training, for seven months.” Mews comments on the branch she is enlisting in as well as her duty. Mew decided to enter into the National Guard on September 11th of last year. The National Guard offered her an opportunity to serve in the military as well as attend college, which helped sway her decision.

McLeod was affected by her mother’s fiance’s role in the Air Force for over 30 years, as well as her cousins’ involvement in the military. However, Mcleod’s experience at the weekend of ASVAB test, allowed her to commit to a career in the Air Force.

“Probably the weekend I took the ASVAB..a big test that you take that is four hours long and it tells you jobs you would be capable of doing [in the military],” McLeod states about solidifying her decision to enlist. “I stayed overnight at this hotel with a bunch of Air Force people and other military people and my roommate was…shipping out the next morning. We had a really cool talk about [the Air Force] and that is when I first knew I really wanted to do it.”

As a traffic Manager for the Air Force, McLeod will be attending Utah Valley University (UVU) and as a reserve, she will be going to the base once a month to regulate traffic.

“It makes feel like more girls should be..[enlisting],” McLeod states on being one of the only female enlistee from the graduating class. “I don’t know, it was kinda an eye opener. You can do anything you want after graduation. I’m just surprise that not more girls want to do it…”

Mews expresses her view on joining the military, stating, “It just makes me proud that I am one of the ones who can stand up when no one else will…” With only a small fraction of the U.S population being involved in the military, it such an accomplishment to have two girls of the 10 graduating seniors enlisting.These girls are not only shaping their futures, they are fighting so we know we will have one.