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48 G.I. JOBS | OCTOBER 2016 | GIJOBS.COM EDU STUDENT SUCCESS SPOTLIGHT WHEN HE ENLISTED, PERRY RUSSELL never had any doubt where he was go- ing. He was going to school. He joined the Army National Guard so his dad wouldn't have to pay for his education. "My dad most likely would have helped me pay, but hard work was a lesson I learned very young from all my uncles, my granddad and my dad," he says. "I wanted to earn it. I wanted to feel like I deserved it." He wasn't disappointed. He served as a squad leader stateside and trained the Afghan National Police while deployed. When he came home and took off the uni- form, he struggled to adjust. Today he's studying for the bar exam after earning his law degree from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Fla., and receiving the Phyllis Stansell Professionalism and Ethics award and graduating Pro Bono Honors in May. We asked Russell about his journey from combat to the courtroom. What were some of your duty staঞons? RUSSELL: Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Redstone Arsenal, Alabama; Camp Arifjan, Kuwait; Camp Clark, Afghanistan What was the most memorable experience you had in the military? RUSSELL: The first time we took indirect fire while I was deployed. I can still remember the sounds of rocks and shrapnel hitting the bunker, the smell of gunpowder, sweat rolling off my head, the cold cement that I was leaning on, the dust in my eyes. I remember looking out of the bunker and seeing people that were frozen up and one of my sergeants yelling for me and a few others to grab people and force them into the bunker. After it was over, I remember sleeping like a baby for two hours and starting my day the next day. While we went on to take countless more days and nights of indirect fire, direct fire and IEDs, the first night of enemy contact is the one I remember most vividly. What was the biggest challenge you faced? RUSSELL: Coming home and feeling like I couldn't relate to anyone and the fear in the back of my head that everyone thinks you become crazy when you go over there. Why did you decide to separate? RUSSELL: I felt like I wasn't in con- trol of my own life. If I had something I wanted to do, the military could interfere at any time and trump my plans. I did not want to do that for 20 or 30 years. What was your exit plan? RUSSELL: My exit plan was the same as my entry plan. As soon as I got out I wanted to go to school. What did you do a[er you separated? RUSSELL: Right after I separated, I began to work at a factory that made air conditioners for homes. I worked there during a summer. When that summer was over, they would not change my hours so I could go to school. I quit and worked at a car wash in my hometown and started college shortly after. When and why were you aracted to a career in law? RUSSELL: While in undergrad, one One soldier's journey from Afghanistan to a degree at Florida Coastal School of Law. COMBAT TO THE COURTROOM