Some graduating seniors look toward a future of college and a desk job. But senior Jeff Beebe is looking toward army boot camp and risky combat.

“I want to travel,” Beebe said. “I want to see the world. My family has a history with being in the army. Someone’s got to do it. Why not me?”

The army offers assessments to test compatibility across the field. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is the official test that can be taken at the closest Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). Similarly, the army provides ways to explore careers via skills and interests on their website. After taking an aptitude test, Beebe plans to have a career similar to infantry.

“I’ll probably get put in a more hazardous zone because of my job,” Beebe said. “They’ll station me somewhere for a certain amount of time. I get 30 days of leave each year, and then after a certain amount of time, they’ll move me somewhere else.”

Beebe said he hopes to be stationed in Germany at some point along his army career.

“Because it’s Germany,” Beebe said. “I’ve never been there.”

The Army requires at least a high school diploma or GED in order to enlist and offers the route to gain a college degree while in service.

“I am planning on doing college in the army, because it has really good education benefits if you’re active duty,” Beebe said. “I plan on majoring in linguistics, and then join the state department with that.”

After graduation on June 6, Beebe has a week to prepare for boot camp. He will ship out to Fort Benning in Georgia for a 19-week training program. Afterward, Beebe will have two weeks before reporting to his assigned duty station and beginning his new life.