Class of 2020: Going into the Marine Corps to help people

OGDEN, Utah – Alexander Falkner did not expect to join the Marine Corps. 

“Initially I wanted to join the Navy. I wanted to try and be a Navy SEAL, but then I made the mistake of sitting down with a Marine recruiter and now I’m joining the cult,” Falkner jokes. 

But in all seriousness, he feels like he made the right decision. 

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“We had lunch, and then I stopped by the [recruitment] office. And once I stepped in, it really felt a lot different from everything else. I felt like it was a place I wanted to belong because everyone was so welcoming and kind, and you can tell they truly care,” Falkner says. 

Joining the armed forces is not unexpected for Falkner. He is graduating from the Utah Military Academy, a school he has studied at since the seventh grade. 

Like most schools, the Utah Military Academy has had to scale back their graduation ceremony because of COVID-19. While he is disappointed, for Falkner this is not a setback but an opportunity to prepare for his future.

“Something that Marines talk about a lot is being able to adapt and overcome because not everything is going to be picture perfect. It sucks that I’m not going to have a great graduation with all my friends and family coming, but graduation is a graduation as long as we get the job done…I think in its own way it helps prepare me for the expectations of life ’cause not everything’s going to be great [and] not everything’s going to work out just the way you want it,” Falkner says. 

Wherever he eventually gets stationed, Falkner wants to do good for others as a Marine. 

“There are bad things going on in the world. I just try not to focus on it. I try to focus on the good that I’ll be able to do,” Falkner says.

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See the rest of our Class of 2020 coverage here.