Ever since his freshman year, Max Ramos-Sosa knew the traditional college path after high school wasn’t for him. Four years later, his post high-school plans hold true to that belief. After Ramos-Sosa walks across the stage in June, he will embark on the next phase of his life, as an IT Specialist (25B) for the Virginia Army National Guard.
Since signing his official contract in December, Ramos-Sosa missed out on the common stress high school seniors face during college decision season and post high school work opportunities. “It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulder, because last year, I had no clue what I was going to do. If you would have told me ‘you’re going to join the Virginia Army National Guard’ I would have said you’re lying. I’m most likely not going to join the military, but this is the best decision I’ve made in my life so far, and I’m happy with it,” Ramos-Sosa said.
An unlikely place played a major role in Ramos-Sosa’s future, presenting him with the conversation that would alter his life forever. “I first met Sergeant Hernandez in the cafeteria at Dominion about [four] and a half months ago. I told him I was originally looking into the Marines, because I have family in the Marines,” Ramos-Sosa said. Ramos-Sosa’s encounter with Sergeant Hernandez opened new doors for him, but also taught an invaluable lesson: to always ask questions. “Ask questions. It’s always the stupid questions that you don’t think to ask are always the most important ones,” Ramos-Sosa said.
Ramos-Sosa would later find out joining the Guard would give him better benefits, and the ability to be close to his family. Joining the Virginia Army National Guard will give him access to unique incentives and privileges. “Virginia Army National Guard is a part time service (one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer) while getting all the benefits $24,500, clearance, healthcare, home loans, and more,” Max’s recruiter, Sergeant Ever Hernandez said. After a fateful encounter, Ramos-Sosa kept in contact with Sergeant Hernandez, who accompanied him to another major moment, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) at the Leesburg Armory.
“I took the ASVAB, and I saw that [the] main job that I could qualify for is [an] electronic technology specialist, and that’s what I qualified for,” Ramos-Sosa said. “Mainly, the thing I expect to do is anything with computers. After I complete basic and Advanced Individual Training (AIT), I [plan to] come back to Virginia [as] I could work for a lot of companies that are mainly computer based. I also qualify for TSC, which is top secret clearance, so that allows me to be paid even more than the average person because of that [clearance].”
Along with Sergeant Hernandez, former head lacrosse coach and current physical education teacher Pete Lenotti has played an equally important role in Ramos’s high school career, as his lacrosse coach his junior year. “He [Lenotti] wants the best for me. If I ever needed help with payments for anything, like lacrosse, [I] just had to talk to him. He would actually help [me] by paying for us to play, which would give us an opportunity to play the sport we love,” Ramos-Sosa said.
For the past two years, Ramos-Sosa has also been a part of Dominion’s wrestling team. Coach Billy Young has served as his coach both years, and has helped Ramos-Sosa achieve success on and off the mat. “ I hopefully have taught him how to be successful on and off the mat, as a wrestler and a human being,” Young said. In the past two years, Ramos-Sosa has placed at Districts once and Regionals twice, qualified for Regionals twice, and qualified for the State meet once, cementing his place in Dominion wrestling history, after breaking the school record for most escapes in a single-season with 39 escapes.
Ramos-Sosa hopes to serve 20 years in the Virginia Army National Guard, receive his full-pension, and have discipline instilled in him, a trait that will help him for the rest of his life.
“I [have] never been really a person that has been on the straight and narrow. I’ve always been a person that has [made] mistakes, but, my mistakes affected not just me. They affected other people, which is why I feel like this discipline that is going to be instilled in me is going to help me for the rest of my life,” Ramos-Sosa expressed.
