Culture shock: OCC's Peterson describes Marine Corps experience

Jan. 5—A week after Taylor Peterson graduated from Frontenac High School she took a flight to Parris Island, South Carolina, and was standing on the yellow footprints at the U.S. Marine Corps base.

"They explain it as a culture shock," Peterson said. "And I'm telling you, it was the biggest culture shock ever."

Her head coach at Ozark Christian College, Kyle Wicklund, sees something special in his junior for that sacrifice she made.

"It's special to be able to see somebody that wants to go out of high school and serve," he said. "But another factor on top of that is a lady wanting to go into the military and serve."

The extremities of the culture shock for her were people screaming in her face and the strict discipline. Peterson explained that there was no crying and no emotion in the Marines. The whole process was about breaking her down through their training to build her up to be a Marine.

"Whatever our drill sergeants wanted to instill in us, that's what we have," Peterson said.

The 23-year-old said she didn't have trouble with the transition to showing no emotion, but it's been more difficult for her since leaving the Marines to turn off that mentality she developed while she was enlisted.

"Still to this day — I've been out for two years now — and it's still hard to turn that mind off," she said. "Whenever I got out I was very angry. ... I was ready to go all the time. In the Marine Corps you're always ready to go because you never know who's the enemy or anything like that."

From the grind of getting up at 4 a.m. every day for boot camp for six months to the sisterhood she developed with fellow Marines and the strict discipline that was handed out, Peterson found exactly what she was wanting from the military.

"Yeah, absolutely," Peterson said about getting what she was looking for. "The Marine Corps definitely gave me the structure I was looking for."

Her enlistment was cut short when she was injured in a vehicle accident and received a medical discharge after two years.

Peterson explained the accident coming when she was in training to be deployed to go to Okinawa, Japan. Their Amphibious Combat Vehicle — formerly known as Amphibious Assault Vehicle — was parked on an incline and the emergency brake broke. Someone jumped in and hit the brakes causing Peterson to fall off.

She knew something wasn't right with her hip following the accident but she waited to have it checked out until after their field operation was finished. Once she had it looked at she learned her hip was broken and they gave her two options: Peterson could either finish her time as an office clerk or use her G.I. Bill to go back home and begin life outside of the Marine Corps.

She chose to return to Frontenac, Kansas. Initially, she attended Fort Scott Community College and played softball there. But Peterson said she and her coach weren't on the same page and eventually Peterson decided to stop playing softball.

That's when she heard about Ozark Christian College. A friend from high school asked if she had ever thought about OCC. Peterson admitted her first response was "Where is that?"

Now she's in her third season with the Ambassadors.

"Coming to Ozark was my changing point," Peterson said. "Honestly, I don't know. The Lord works in mysterious ways. I never even knew of Ozark Christian College until a friend brought it up. and now, here they are (OCC) changing my life."

Coach Wicklund sees that change as well.

"I was able to baptize her here on campus her first year here," Wicklund said. "Ever since then I've just seen a difference in that kid. She just has a passion for people and a passion for helping, just for loving people in general. She's a human being so obviously there's ups and downs but just her growth from when she first came to now is tenfold. It truly is. I'm so proud of her.

"Just from where she's been at in life to where she is now, that's a hero in and of itself. Along with being in the military. I mean, she truly is a hero. She's a hero to me. She's a hero to our team."

He noted that having Peterson join the team was a boost for them with the maturity from her life experiences she's had in the Marine Corps. He sees that she can help her teammates with a lot of struggles they may have.

While it's much different, she mentioned that she's still able to have that strong sisterhood with her teammates like she did in the military. She noted a big difference just in the way they speak to each other. In the Marines it was more blunt whereas it's more caring and respectful in college.

Other differences from the two experiences are that she can struggle to see the importance of someone's struggles in the civilian life. Not that she wants to compare the two, but sometimes she finds herself thinking what someone else struggles with is nothing compared to what she saw and dealt with in the military.

One of the biggest differences Wicklund sees from his former Marine is her bluntness and how up front she is while also responding to authority with "Yes ma'am" and "Yes sir" frequently.

Being in the Marine Corps was the experience she was looking for, but it wasn't always easy for her. She recalls some down moments as well.

"I remember calling my mom and saying, 'This is not for me,' " Peterson said. "Just putting your head down, doing the grind, do what you need to do, at the end of the day whatever obstacle you go over, it's going to pay off.

"You can feel bad for yourself, but, even in a team aspect, everyone's going through the same thing. You can be selfish and only think about yourself ... But what about your brother and sister next to you?"

Going through that grind and putting her head down and completing what many call the most difficult boot camp in the military is something she takes pride in.

"I would do it all over again if I could," Peterson said.

Part of what led her to joining the military is proving she could accomplish anything. Peterson mentioned believing that people were saying she wasn't smart enough for college and that she couldn't do it. Now, she's proved she was capable of being a Marine and now she's proving she can be a full-time student with three jobs as well as being a college athlete.

She even has some family history with the military. Both grandfathers were in the Navy.

"They were not very happy that I chose the Marines," Peterson said.

One thing she always told them was that she chose that branch because she believed it was harder than their boot camp and that her suit looked better than theirs.

Peterson recalled always seeing pictures and other memorabilia of her grandpa on her mom's side of the family but never got to hear any stories when she was younger. After being a part of the military she realized why.

"I realized that people in the military only share stories with other people in the military," Peterson said.

She holds that bond with him that no one else in the family can say they have and that is special to her.

Her grandfathers aren't alive today, but her mom's dad left her with a pretty special memory.

"His wish was to be cremated," Peterson said of her grandpa. "After he died, I was looking for that 'Proud Grandpa of a Marine' shirt and that's when my mom told me that was his last wish to be cremated in that shirt."

She also recalls him always having a picture up of her in the Marine dress blues.

Peterson mentioned that going back into the Marine Corps is something she would be interested in. She has the opportunity to go back as an officer once she gets her degree and that's something she would consider doing.

But she also is considering becoming an officer at the police station in Frontenac where she currently works as a dispatcher on the weekends.

"It's a good starting place, I'll say," she said. "It's a small town. Not a lot happens. But it's a good way to get a basic understanding. But I think a bigger city would be way more interesting."

"No matter what, I'll have a title of an officer somewhere, somehow."