Student Spotlight: Joe Schrank, U.S. Navy

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Joe Schrank, and I am from Virginia. I served in the United States Navy as a submarine radioman. I enlisted in the military because I had a horrible start in life, and joining was realistically my only chance to excel. It was truly life-changing.

A fun fact about me is that I love the physical properties of materials, blacksmithing, woodworking, and metal casting. Everything has its own unique properties that can be used in conjunction with other materials to create a product greater than its sum. Which I believe is a great metaphor for working together, albeit not very romantic.

Did you attend college before participating in our STEM course at the California Institute of Technology, and why did you decide to take time out of your summer to participate in Warrior-Scholar Project?

I tried one semester of college before joining the Navy. I decided to apply to WSP because I was honestly worried I wouldn’t know where to start in college and that it would be too much. A buddy of mine posted that he attended a WSP course and highly recommended it. After talking with him about it, I decided to apply.

Tell us a little bit about what you were feeling going into your first academic boot camp.

On the first day of the course, I asked myself, “What have I gotten myself into?” However, throughout the week, there absolutely was a shift in my confidence. Although the course material is complex in its entirety, it is made of many smaller and less complex pieces. I realized that it wasn’t as bad as I originally thought and was very ecstatic after that.

What are some lessons or key concepts you took away from Warrior-Scholar Project?

There are a lot of extremely helpful groups and educational opportunities for veterans. We may not be the most socially fluffy group, but we are definitely a good group. I think most veterans tend to stay to themselves after they get out. I’ve seen this ruin them, be it suicide or addiction. But I also think that by having a veteran social network (especially academically), you can provide yourself with a transitionary buffer between the military and civilian life, which is invaluable. But, the most important thing I learned was that even the toughest subject can be learned eventually.

How would you sum up your #WSPExperience?

My #WSPexperience was very productive. The fellows were extremely knowledgeable and helpful. The veterans I worked with were very open-minded and responsive to the material, which made me feel like we were all in sync. I felt extremely privileged and humbled to be lectured by the university staff. I am very glad I attended.