By Marine Corps Sgt. T.M. Stewman
4th Marine Corps District
CLEVELAND, Dec. 17, 2013 – Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Daniel
Barker, staff noncommissioned officer in charge of Recruiting Substation
Tri-County here, was taken by surprise when his stepdaughter let the family
know that she intended to join the Marine Corps.
“Initially, I thought she was joking,” explained the
34-year-old, Bethel, Ohio native. “She had never really mentioned anything
about the military before, and I think we all just assumed that she would
follow her older sister to Arizona State.”
But Marine Corps Pfc. Jessica Lopez had different plans.
“I had been thinking about it since my freshman year of high
school,” the 18-year-old Marine said. She enlisted in June 2012 out of
Recruiting Substation Canton, where Barker previously served as a recruiter.
“The opportunities that are available in the Marine Corps
always appealed to me, but it was getting a chance to see the type of Marine my
dad is that really inspired me,” she said. “I was inspired by his work ethic,
especially after becoming a recruiter. He worked so hard, but still took care
of his family. That’s something that I’ve wanted for myself.”
That choice earned Lopez an all-expenses-paid trip to Marine
Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. She graduated from recruit training
Aug. 16, and now is at air traffic controller school in Pensacola, Fla.
Though she has been a Marine just a short time, Lopez said,
she has big plans for herself and her time in the Corps, with aspirations to be
a Marine security guard and later a drill instructor.
Barker’s experience made her sure she was making the right
decision, Lopez said. “My family was very supportive of my decision,” she
added, “and my dad really helped me with all the information I needed to make
the right choice.”
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