Nathan T.

Kelley Professor Alexis Alexander English 1010 06 October 2011

Why I Came To College My name is Nathan Kelley. I am 23 years old and I am a Freshman in college. I decided to go college this year to fulfill something that has in a way always been a dream

of mine.

I graduated from Round Lake Senior High School on May 5, 2006. On August 17, 2006

I left for basic training in the United States Army. After I graduated from basic training I was

sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and was trained to be a 74D which is a Chemical

Biological Radiological Nuclear Operations Specialist. Then from there I was sent to Fort

Campbell, KY where I stayed for 4 years. I enjoyed all 4 years of my service but during those

4 years I felt like I was missing something. Like I had skipped out on a part of my life. I would

constantly . hear from friends back home about the friends they made and the experiences they

were having that they would remember for the rest of their lives. I never had those experiences.

Nathan T. Kelley Professor Alexis Alexander English 1010 06 October 2011

Not to say that I didnt have plenty of experiences in the Army. These were a different kind of

experience though. I was sent to Iraq when I was 19 after being in the Army for just one year. I

feel as though the things and experience you get from something like war and the experience you

get from being in a safe that you can call home far differ from each other. I had almost a strange

craving to experience the other.

After getting out of the Army on May 15, 2010 I immediately applied to attend Austin

Peay. And after almost a year of submitting different kinds of paperwork I was admitted to

Austin Peay State University as a declared Nursing major.

I am excited to begin at Austin Peay this year. I look forward to having my own

experience with making friends, studying hard, partying harder, and using the schools resources

to their full extent. Although I appear to be older than quite a bit of my 2015 classmates, Im sure

Nathan T. Kelley Professor Alexis Alexander English 1010 06 October 2011

these next 4 years are going to be ones I will never forget