Volley Vet
Christopher Rivera, United States Navy
When I joined the Navy in 2016, I was a timid individual with a lack of drive and a sense of true responsibility. The structure of my personality conformed to the social circles I surrounded myself with. I was a sheltered young man with minimal life experience, sheltered behind the confinements of a Midwest suburb. I never envisioned myself in the military.
Prior to service, I took a year of Pre-Nursing at Missouri Baptist University (MOBAP). But why? I was chasing the course of a pre-determined dream--the stereotypical Filipino nurse. Looking back, I was never in it for the education. Instead, my ambitions were placed toward gaining a scholarship for men's volleyball. Back then, my heart had a relentless hunger for volleyball. I had played all four years in high school and begged my parents to play for the best local club team. I excelled and landed a bench position on the MOBAP men's volleyball team. The plan was to learn, play, and improve with a nationally winning NAIA division college while synthesizing a transition to a division 1 school. That route was short-lived; my boundless charisma lost traction between the seams of a faltered educational outlook. Although my passion for volleyball was not lost, I knew it had to be reserved for personal growth.
Foundationally, I have always been a strong advocate for self-improvement but some of the best organic growth in my life came from taking the initiative to step out of my comfort zone. I seized the opportunity for a huge lifestyle change by contacting my local Navy Recruiter. Right off the bat, I was selected for leadership positions throughout boot camp and career training. I was immediately stripped of my introverted tendencies, issued by a mindset that required me to be driven and malleable. I stood by my previous ambitions and followed suit in the medical field as a Hospital Corpsman. In the Navy, I was tasked with various medical responsibilities and trained in a wide range of medical settings: field, trauma, clinical, first aid, nursing, and more. I spent the first half of my enlistment being stationed at the Naval Hospital in Okinawa, and the second half at Camp Pendleton with 2nd Battalion 1st Marines.
The military presented itself with a plethora of stress and obstacles. In Okinawa I remedied the stress by immersing myself in the culture and revisiting my volleyball passion against international competition. As time progressed, an opportunity to compete in the All-Armed Forces tournament arose. The process consisted of paper applications and upon approval, a flight to physical tryouts. For two consecutive years I surpassed in-person tryouts at Mayport, FL, and competed against the Army and Air Force all armed forces teams.
I never lost my passion for volleyball. But throughout my personal growth, I learned to gauge and pursue a balanced focus, one that cultivates a future and incorporates my fundamental aspirations.
