Lacey Castejon

I grew up an Army brat, so I've had the distinct privilege of living in numerous states and countries, but I consider upstate NY home to me. I moved to Miami at 19 and earned my A.A. in political science from Miami Dade College. I graduated with highest honors and was an active member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, earning an academic scholarship to the University of Miami. I was also awarded a $25,000 academic scholarship from UM, and began classes there in the fall of 2008. In the next year, I met the man of my dreams and got married. Shortly after, I felt convicted to serve my country by joining the Army, and I made the most difficult decision of my life....to give up the scholarships and drop out of school. I was then sent to the Defense Language Institute to learn Korean and train as a military intelligence linguist. I excelled at the Korean language, stayed at the top of my class during my time at DLI, and participated in many writing and speaking competitions. Unfortunately, I encountered some medical issues leading to my discharge, and now I am back in school to finish my bachelor's degree.