�鶹��ý

Veterans Day is a time to honor the sacrifices of those who have served in the U.S. Military.

Paul Reed, a second-year student in , served in the U.S. Marine Corps for approximately nine years.

He joined the Marines because he wanted to stretch his capabilities and grow both personally and professionally.

“The opportunity to contribute to a collective mission while being challenged daily was something I found fulfilling.”

He was stationed for over four years on Okinawa, Japan, and four years in Norfolk, Virginia, holding a variety of positions including manpower support and coordination for military operations and exercises. He also participated in joint military exercises in Thailand, South Korea, and the Philippines.

“A transformative aspect of my military service was living and working in different cultures, which broadened my worldview. These experiences taught me adaptability and the importance of understanding different perspectives.”

The Marines also instilled in him the value of discipline, resilience, and teamwork, all critical life skills that are helping him endure the rigors of law school.

“I saw �鶹��ý Law as an opportunity to push myself in new way, while also building relationships with my professors and with fellow students who have a similar drive for challenge and ambition.”

Paul, who hails from Akron, Ohio, has an undergraduate degree in international business and an MBA. He plans to focus his legal career on business interests, specifically mergers and acquisitions. He also aspires to run for a political office in the future.

Rebecca Losinski, a first-year law student at �鶹��ý’s Pettit College of Law, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was part of an all-female training battalion. After boot camp, she deployed to Japan where she worked as a logistician “putting people and cargo on planes.”

Stationed in Japan during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, she faced many challenges, but the “silver lining” was traveling the country when there were few other tourists.

She hiked Mt. Fuji, visited Japan’s beautiful beaches and temples, experienced the wonder of cherry blossom season, and explored cities from Nagasaki to Kyoto. She also visited South Korea and Guam.

Experiencing others cultures and ways of living, she says, “broadened my world view.”

Rebecca was inspired to serve, in part, by the story of her great-grandfather, Florian Losinski. A Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II, Florian sacrificed his life to give his men the chance to get to safety while under heavy fire during a battle in the Philippines. He was awarded the Silver Star posthumously.

“Hearing stories about his heroism from members of his battalion decades later was really impactful to me growing up.”

In the U.S. Marine Corps, Rebecca found her voice.

“At some point during boot camp, it clicked for me that I was accomplishing something that a lot of people didn’t get to do, or couldn’t do, and that gave me a sense of self.”

Now at �鶹��ý Law, the Kentucky native is fulfilling a promise she made to herself in high school after finding out her best friend was sexually assaulted. She plans to become a prosecutor of sexual crimes.

She knows it’s a career that will take a psychological toll, but her service in the Marine Corps imbued her with the resiliency and courage to take on sexual abusers.

“Having someone who is passionate about this work, who cares, and who is going to fight as best she can, I think that’s important.”