CRISTINA MAGANA

Marco Magana in Uniform

     When the hats are tossed, sheepskins handed out, and many-a-tearful-hug given, most now newly branded “adults” prepare for the plunge into college life. However, for many, their paths don’t exactly align with what the college center would have students believe. Instead, some heed the call for the honorable, courageous, and committed. Wolfpack Alumni Marco Magana was one such student, enlisting in the Special forces after graduating in 2023. 

     Magana’s not your ordinary teenager. His dedication to challenging himself and self-improvement is astonishing, and his unwavering self-discipline and determination mark him as different. As the United States Navy sorts through its candidates, it begins to consider their strengths and weaknesses, and after careful consideration, people are assigned jobs. 

     Magana’s job is a seemingly ordinary one, but nonetheless a vital logistical need. “My job is AIRR rescue. Ready to take off on a helicopter to conduct humanitarian operations and search and rescue,” he said.

     When it comes to regrets, many would think that Magana’s main one would be not going to college, but surprisingly, he’s very confident in his decision. “I can always go to college in the Navy. Who knows – maybe it’s something I’ll think about in the future,” Magana said. For now, he plans on finishing his four years as required by contract, then re-enlisting to become a drill instructor. 

     Joining the Navy is not something everyone can do. Magana faces daily hardships, and challenges that come with sailing the seas, but he continues to persevere and break on through (to the other side). Despite all the loneliness and the cold isolation one feels staring out into that deep murky blue, Magana keeps his heart close to Maywood. “Another thing that pushed me to do better in boot camp was thinking of coming home to my family and my girlfriend – they were my motivation throughout the whole thing; during everything I did I thought of them and it made me do better on all the stuff I did in boot camp.”

     Magana’s no ordinary man. His exception, his sacrifice, and his dedication to duty join a longstanding tradition that Maywood, and subsequently, MACES, keep alive. He demonstrates the innate potential of each and every one of us, and if the Wolfpack puts their minds to it – anything is possible.