Darryl Sanchez — USMC Admin Clerk to Amherst!
Each week we spotlight enlisted veterans who have successfully transitioned from the military into elite colleges around the nation.
Darryl Sanchez ‘17
Amherst College
Hometown: I was born in Manila, Philippines but immigrated to the states in 2001. My family moved to the Bay Area in California.
Fun Fact About Yourself: I started dancing salsa, bachata and meringue when I got to Amherst.
Intended Major: Economics
Why did you join the Marine Corps? I graduated high school in 2008 right as the economy collapsed. I didn’t have a lot of direction, didn’t know how to go to college and I got a call from a recruiter at the time. I was interested in the GI bill and saw it as a good way to pay for college.
What did you do in the Marine Corps? I worked as an Administrative Clerk — a really broad field — and worked on legal issues, military separations, pay, next of kin notifications for two years. I was selected to deploy and attached TAD to an Osprey Squadron and headed to Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan as their S-1. While deployed as their S-1, I got bored and told my gunnery sergeant that I wanted to do something else. I got transferred to work at a detainment facility to help process POWs and detainees and to serve as an extra security guard for POWs before they were taken to Kabul for trial.
That job was pretty cool. I got to ride in MV-22 Ospreys to remote outposts around Helmland Province to pick up detainees and bring them back to Leatherneck. I did that for three months and then was transferred to 3rd Batt/5th Marines in the Sangin District to provide humanitarian relief and stabilize the region. I did convoy and foot patrols with the infantry, went through devil’s alley with K9s and metal detectors. I also supported their admin personnel and was a scribe during certain meetings with village leaders. It was a great experience — listening to the needs of village leaders and then working with them to provide food, water and medicine.
What was your proudest accomplishment in the Marine Corps? Definitely becoming a member of a team filled with some of the coolest people in the world and helping another group of people by providing humanitarian relief. I found it completely eye-opening, difficult and rewarding. We did our best to build positive relationships with sometimes bi-polar residents. It’s what inspired to join non-profits and the Peace Corps.
Why did you decide to pursue college? When I first joined the Marine Corps, I saw it as a stepping-stone to college. While I was in, I enjoyed it though. I was a terrible Marine but I enjoyed the lifestyle, the direction, the people, the value of knowing when to lead and when to follow and the accountability for your own actions. As I rose through the ranks, I found myself in more and more supervisory positions.
I started taking night classes while I was in the Marine Corps though and considered becoming an officer. Deployment was incredible and I did and saw a lot of things. At the end of deployment though, I was exhausted and realized that the military is a tough life over a career.
How has the transition been from the military to the classroom? It was a huge transition and it was difficult. I had three months after deployment to transition back to the real world and go right into college. I took my studies seriously in community college and got good grades. I sometimes looked around at my community college classmates and saw a difference in maturity. When I met the other veterans on campus — they became a social support group. Veterans looked out for each other and for me. In the beginning it was difficult, but I learned that I can’t be in Marine mode all the time.
What led you to choose Amherst? I was in community college in California and getting ready to transfer to in an in-state college. While I was working on my applications, I read an article in Insider Higher Ed by Wick Sloane. I felt like going to a school like Wick described would be more challenging to me. I applied to Amherst because it was at the top of the list (alphabetically) and I felt like I had nothing to lose. I filled out the common app for Amherst, took a chance and haven’t looked back since.
What’s your favorite part about Amherst? Too many things to encapsulate into one. I love the interactions with students — they are all incredibly smart. It is very humbling to be around these types of students and I craved that deep and intense conversation. My professors are also amazing — I’m given the freedom to speak my mind and don’t have to apologize for it. I like talking to the professors on an “equal” level. It’s amazing to be completely candid with professors and pick their brains about everything — life advice, school help — and approach the relationship as “equals.” Professor Caroline Theoharides got me interested in working internationally in economic development. Professor Dan Barbezat is one of my mentors and a great person to have in my corner. We sit down regularly and talk about life and explore whatever topics interest me. Amherst forces me out of my comfort zone.
What advice would you give to future applicants? The Marine Corps gave me so many things but I would recommend that future applicants get out of the military mindset and be open to leaning new things. When you get on campus, realize that some of your classmates don’t have the experience that you do but keep an open mind and empathize with them. You’re back in the civilian world and you have to transition from one world to the other. Once you push aside those assumptions, you’re adjustment will be much easier. Don’t be too proud to ask for your help — you’ve got a lot of life experience from the military but some of the topics you will be studying require different skills to think critically and analytically to learn how to argue cogently.
What would you like your peers at Amherst to say about you after you graduate? That I did my best to be fair, kind and to do right by people.
What are your goals post-graduation? I joined the Peace Corps and will heading to Moldova. I’ll be working as NGO advisor for Let Girls Learn, an initiative started by Michelle Obama to help provide more opportunities for women and girls. Afterwards, I’d like to pursue a Master’s in Public Health and continue public policy work either for the government, non-profits or potentially the UN.
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Amherst College is a private liberal arts college university in Amherst, MA. It is consistently ranked one of the best colleges in the world.
For more information, please visit www.amherst.edu.
Service to School is a 501c(3) non-profit committed to helping our nation’s veterans earn admission to highly selective colleges and universities. Our mission is to help every transitioning military veteran win admission to the best college or graduate school possible.
In 2015, Service to School launched VetLink, an initiative within our larger mentoring program, which partners our organization with some of the best colleges and universities in the U.S. including Amherst College, Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Notre Dame, Princeton University, Smith College, Williams College, and Yale University.
Are you a transitioning veteran thinking about applying to college to earn your undergraduate or bachelor’s degree? Sign up for help from Service to School.
