Joe Depaz said graduating from Texas Tech seems surreal.

“I just still don’t believe it,” he said.

Two essays and three finals until he proudly walks the stage.

“I think it will actually hit me when I’m at the graduation ceremony and see my family there and I’ll have my stole and what not.”

Depaz, a Marine Corps sergeant entered the military straight out of high school.

“I think in a sense, it forces you to grow up and mature really fast, or if not they teach you how to evolve,” he said of the military.

During his service he was deployed three times, including a 2012 deployment to Afghanistan.

“It was very high speed,” he said, “I was stationed on Camp Leatherneck there, its a combat zone.”

Just 19-years-old at the time, Depaz said a lot of growth occurred during that time period.

He said the leadership instilled in him during his time in the military is something he’ll continue to carry with him.
“Leadership is the most important aspect that I’m going to be transitioning and using in the corporate world in my new career, new job,” he said.

“You start off in the bottom and you have that mentorship and they build you up to become that leader.
In the civilian world they love that, you know, they create that drive to succeed and have that no failure mindset.”

From camo, to class and now corporate, Depaz said Texas Tech’s Military and Veterans Programs have been there to help him on this mission.

“Lubbock grew on me, I love it. The resources here are amazing. The military veterans program definitely helped me make that move applying my GI Bill,” he continued saying they were very informative. 

Having been there himself, Depaz knew he wanted to help other veterans on campus.

“I could see myself in their shoes,” he recalled, “I remember how I was there clueless in a sense coming from a high speed environment, a demanding job in the military, to now it’s kind of on your own schedule, less structure in a sense that change is huge.”

Depaz says being a veteran rep in Texas Tech’s Office of Transition and Engagement was rewarding.

“I’m just glad i got to be able to help those transition veterans that maybe were yearning for that.”

Proving veteran to veteran help can be seen in several different battlefields.

“The biggest thing is, if you don’t know, ask those questions because the answers are there and the resources are there,” he said.

“If you’re struggling, it could be a small question, a big question, just ask those question to be informed and have a successful career here at Texas Tech.

After graduating Depaz has plans to join Tesla Motors as a service technician. 

For more information on the Military and Veterans Programs click here.