On Feb. 26 in the TV Production Studio, six seniors were sworn into the United States Army via a video livestream with Colonel Andrew Morgan, an astronaut currently serving aboard the International Space Station. The event was also covered by multiple local news stations, including WESH-2, Channel-6 and Channel-9. 

Only four high schools and 150 total locations across the country are able to host this ceremony, with a total of nearly 1,000 future-soldiers being sworn in. Of the group of seniors attending from various schools in Central Florida, only one is a Lake Brantley student, senior Linsey Alexander.

“I’ve had a lot of family history in the military, dating all the way back to my grandfather, my step-dad, my sister,” Alexander said. “Not only is it going to give me a career, a life path, a family and education, it’s also going to provide me with a lot of experiences that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to do.”

Before being able to swear in, recruits must take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), pass a physical evaluation and meet with a counselor to determine an appropriate career within the branch. These recruits are aptly named future-soldiers.

“They [the Army] have the ability to let you choose which job you want as long as the seat is open and you’re qualified,” Alexander said. “I’m [going to be] an airborne. How often can you say that you get to go get paid to jump out of airplanes on a regular basis? It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

As part of the ceremony, the future-soldiers were given the opportunity to ask Colonel Morgan questions regarding his time spent in the military. One of the few questions chosen was written by Alexander, in which she asked about Colonel Morgan’s struggles during his time serving and how he overcame them. 

“And as you set off on this journey, you will at some time, hear that voice in your head that tells you ‘maybe this isn’t for you, hey, you should quit now,’” Colonel Morgan said. “And that is your signal that what you’re doing is worth doing. I experienced that multiple times in my career and it has turned out to be extremely rewarding. I can’t stress that enough: things that are worth doing are difficult.”