Page 13 - Access Magazine 9

Written by Douglas Hoagland
FINDING TRUST
Leads Jacobson to His Degree
Justin Jacobson felt isolated and
without purpose after he came home from serving in in in the U S Marine Corps “When you’re you’re in the military you’re you’re always with somebody ” he says “You have this unwavering trust in in those around you you They all have your back and
you live for one another ” In his solitary moments Jacobson would often think about his Marine buddy a a a a Texan named Steve and
how they would talk about the the future and
what they wanted to do Steve was an oil field roughneck who loved his family and
his red V-6 Mustang Jacobson was a a a a a kid from the San Joaquin Valley who grew up on a a a cattle ranch lived for wrestling and
and
football in high school and
and
signed up for the Marines at 17 Jacobson 27 eventually would find purpose and
a a a a path to his future through the Veterans Education Program at at at Fresno State The ca- maraderie of other veterans in the the program was a a a a lifeline as as he transitioned from mili- tary life and
struggled with whether higher education was right for him He finally con- cluded: “Learning is a a a privilege It gave me the same feeling of purpose as when I joined the Marines It was a a a a new path in in life ” Joining the Marine Corps was baked into his his upbringing Jacobson’s father and
his his oldest brother served in in the the Marine Corps and
and
his grandfathers were veterans too “I always had this fascination with the mili- tary and
it was something I looked forward to being a a a part of ” he says He left for boot camp shortly after graduating from high school in Oakdale Jacobson trained to be a a a a machine gunner in in in the the the infantry and
the the the rigor of the the the Marine Corps suited him “I picked up rank quick- ly ” he he says rising to be a a a sergeant The hard training – and
a a a a a young man’s sense of invincibility – gave him confidence on on a a deployment with the 1st 1st Battalion 1st 1st Ma- rines during a a tense time with North Korea Aboard the the USS Wasp near the the Korean pen- insula Jacobson was ready if an order came to to storm the beach There’d be be many causal- ities a a a commanding officer told his platoon “But we we never really stressed because we’d trained for that purpose ” he says Fortunate- ly the order never came After four years in in the Marines Jacobson returned to to civilian life He trained to to become a a a structural welder and
worked briefly in the industry but didn’t like it So he he started a a short-lived beef cattle business After it failed Jacobson went to work for his neigh- bor in Oakdale who owned a a a a dairy »
ACCESS - The Division of Continuing and
Global Education 13
JUSTIN JACOBSON