Walpole High School Senior Pursuing a Military Career in The Marines

Editor's note: The following is courtesy of The Rebellion, Walpole High School's student-newspaper. The article was written by WHS student Justin Rouhana. Click here to view the article and other great student work on The Rebellion's website.

Spring has sprung and with the new season has come thoughts of graduation, the Walpole High School senior class moving on and what their plans for after they go out into the world are.

Most students choose to further their education and have been searching for colleges and universities they want to attend and or have been accepted to.

Senior Ryan Finn is a student who chose a different path, one that not too many people pursue: The Marine Corps.

Every day, after seven hours of being in class, Finn trudges down the stairs after last period and heads into the locker rooms where he prepares himself for a workout. Workouts are not unfamiliar to Finn, being an starting outside linebacker for the Rebels required becoming well acquainted with the weight room.

You can often find Finn in the wrestling room, where he is usually preparing for boot camp by doing an outrageous abdominal workout. Additionally, Finn’s cardio endurance is absurd. Finn’s abdominal muscles are in prime condition from doing his infamous “5-minute non-stop battle” in which you continuously are exercising your entire core, just in a different exercise every minute. Amongst his fellow gym rats, Finn is known for this. Secondly, Finn is also known for being able to run a mile in under six minutes.

Finn played his final season of football this past fall for the Rebels and has been in the weight room every day since.

“I always need to be active,” Finn said.

Finn was a starter on defense as an outside linebacker in the Rebel’s 3-4 defensive scheme. Finn finished with a great senior season, being one of the top tacklers on the team. Finn’s work ethic was a big part of his success on and off the field.

“I’ve never seen anyone like Finn, he lives in that weight room,” said junior teammate Mike Fortin when asked of Finn's work ethic. 

Referencing his coach, local legend, Barry Greener, Finn said, “Football has prepared me for not just The Marine Corps but life as a whole. It taught me how to deal with loss, how to overcome adversity and being tired. Pain is weakness leaving the body.”

Finn also proved to be a very versatile player for the Rebels, participating actively on all special teams. Finn wasn’t just a defensive specialist either, as he was part of the Rebels' trick, tackle eligible play, in which he goes out for a pass from the tackle position on the offensive line.

Finn truly loved the game.

“Just like coach always said, ‘football is the closest thing to war without actually killing anyone.’”

Finn's teammate, junior Dan Aldridge, who spent the season on the sidelines due to injury, added, “Finn was the most intense player I saw all season, he played every down like he was a wild man. After that whistle blew, he could just shut it off, it was really a sight to see.”

Never very interested in school and his classwork, Finn searched for something that interested him more and thus has found himself nearing his last day of schooling and pursuing a career in the military.  

Finn has wanted to join the military from a very young age and decided as long ago as his sophomore year that the Marines was the right branch for him. He has never been one to shy away from a challenge and in his opinion, “The Marine Corps is the toughest and the biggest test, I definitely want to be tested day in and day out.”

Additionally, Finn believes the Marines is the most honorable of the branches of the military — they are the first to fight and are always right in the thick of things. A prime example of this is in the recent Iraq War in which the Marines were the first ground troops on Iraqi soil.

Finn plans to enlist into an infantry platoon and be “a grunt” for four years of service.

To read more of Rouhana's story on Finn's pursuit of a military career, click here.