By Nicole Falco
"You see a whole new world [being in the military]," Mohammed said. "I'm young -- if I don't like it I know it's only for four years. I'm only going to learn from it, it's not going to hurt me. It'll make me tougher, more confident."
The high school senior finally decided on the Air Force after experiencing what she felt was prejudice from the Navy recruiter because she practices Islam. "It was really a shock, but I'm not going to give up that easily," Mohamed said. "This is what I always wanted to do."
She will depart for Texas for basic training on Sept. 9. Mohamed is one of a number of Valley Stream high school seniors who have decided to enlist in the armed forces after graduation. The students interviewed by the Herald made the decision to enlist prior to the United States' war with Iraq and said that the conflict has only reinforced their decision.
"I'm looking forward to doing anything I have to do," said Michael Cangemi, a Central High School senior who enlisted in the Marine Corps' delayed-entry program earlier this year. "I'll do whatever I have to do for this country. I love this country and everything about it."
As a participant in the delayed-entry program, he is one of a number of new recruits that train every other Saturday at the Marines' Hempstead facility. For Cangemi, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks played a major role in his decision to become a Marine. His older sister, Kristin, was in the city that morning, giving the family a scare until she was able to make it out safe.
"I saw how Americans were affected, how I was affected," Cangemi said. "I realized [the Marines] was something I could do."
Having played football for the Valley Stream Green Hornets and Central High School, Cangemi is in good shape to begin basic training at Parris Island, S.C., on July 21. His decision was also influenced by his father, Leonard, and two uncles, all of whom are former Marines.
Lisa Chiaramonte's decision to enlist in the Army is natural considering her love of adventure. As a member of Venture Crew 116, a co-ed scouting organization for teens and young adults, she has gone rock climbing and horseback riding, played paintball, and is looking forward to a whitewater rafting trip. Being a part of Venture Crew 116 has let Chiaramonte, a Central senior, explore her sense of adventure as well as her desire to give back to her community through community-service activities planned by the crew.
"I hope to gain strength -- not just physical strength, but mental strength," said the soft-spoken recruit. "It's important to remember that you are doing this not just for yourself, but for your country."
The war with Iraq made Chiaramonte's desire to join even greater. She leaves for basic training in September at Fort Jackson, S.C., but said she's so anxious to go that she'd leave tomorrow if she could. Chiaramonte will be pursuing culinary arts as her specialty and also plans to take college-level courses.
"I'm very happy she's going," said her father, Charles. "I think this will be something good for her to do. [And] it's an independent decision on my daughter's part. It made me even more proud that she did it on her own."
Joseph Macchia, a senior at South High School, has already begun using his military rank. When called for this interview, he identified himself as "Private Macchia," even though he doesn't begin basic training until July.
Macchia, a varsity football and volleyball player in high school, enlisted in the Army Reserves for the physical challenge, to become disciplined for success in college and to earn money for college. Macchia plans to attend college once he has completed basic and specialty training, most likely in January.
As a reservist, Macchia will be required to be on duty one weekend a month and two weeks a year. He hasn't ruled out the possibility of making the military a career once he finishes college.
While his specialty will be culinary arts, he said he hopes to pursue a career in the medical field.
Like Macchia, Mohamed's interests are also diverse. She will specialize in administrative work in the Air Force, but she can see herself pursuing law enforcement as a career once she completes her tour.
Mohamed's interest in law enforcement was piqued after she completed the Hempstead Police Department's Civilian Police Academy. She said she also enjoys modeling, and she was a contestant in the Miss New York Teen pageant in 2002 and the Miss New York Junior Teen pageant in 2001.
Mohamed said she is just exercising her right to the pursuit of happiness, the right of every American. "I want to show the freedom [Americans have]," she said. "Growing up in Egypt, I saw women had no freedom. After having lived nine years in Egypt, I want to do what I know I couldn't do there."
Even if it means fighting for her country. Mohamed was born in California, and her family moved to Egypt when she was 2. After her parents divorced, her mother, Zeinaab Aly, came to Valley Stream hoping to give her daughter the freedom to learn that she had been denied. Eva was 11 when she moved to Long Island.
"I didn't need her to grow up the way I grew up," Aly said. "I don't need that life for my daughter. I'm so happy whatever I tried to do has come true before my eyes."
