Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego -- In today’s society where money rules and patriotism often fades in and out, many people choose the call that leads to a pot of gold instead of service to their country. However, one Marine decided to leave his career behind to answer a call that he first heard many years ago.
Private First Class Julian J. Lara, Kilo Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, worked as a pharmacist for several years, but made the decision to pursue his dream of being a Marine.
Lara grew up in Chicago and attended Morton West High School where he competed in football and wrestling while maintaining a place on the honor roll.
“When high school was coming to an end, I really was interested in the military,” said Lara. “My situation made it tough for me to be able to pursue the military because my family wasn’t exactly financially stable.”
Through the assistance of grants and other loans that helped to pay for tuition at University of Illinois at Chicago he was able to begin his path of achieving a degree as a biological scientist and in chemistry.
“I chose the biological science major because at the time, the health care market was booming,” said Lara. “There were so many opportunities that paid well after I graduated.”
As Lara progressed through school, he described it as difficult and very busy.
“I remember all of the late nights I spent studying and not getting any sleep,” said Lara. “I knew it would be worth it when it was all over.”
He worked as a technician at Bienestar Pharmacy to earn extra income while he attended classes. There he assisted the pharmacist with filling prescriptions and completing any required tasks.
In 2013, Lara graduated from the university and received his degree. He continued with his career after he graduated, but never felt like it was what he was really passionate about or that is wasn’t what he really wanted to do for a living.
“I made a good income where I worked,” said Lara. “I saved up a lot of money and supported my brother while he was going through school.”
His displeasure with his career began when he realized the health care field wasn’t exactly what he expected.
“It felt like people were in it for just the money,” said Lara. “I chose it because I want to help people. I realized a lot of people didn’t really care about the patients or the customers but just really cared about their pay check.”
Eventually, Lara resigned from his job at the pharmacy and worked for a cable company before making the decision to change his life.
“I felt like it was a good point in my life to do something different,” said Lara. “My brother was able to support himself as well as my family, and I needed a break from the healthcare market.”
Lara thought back to when he was in high school and remembered what he really wanted to do and that was to become a Marine.
“The Marines have always been something I wanted to do,” said Lara. “I was a very athletic student, and just watching the commercials and reading about the things they do definitely caught my interest.”
Lara arrived at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in June and joined Kilo Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion.
Following graduation, Lara will attend Marine Combat Training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., and then will move on to training in his new career in aviation electronics. He believes he would like to stay enlisted for a few years and plans on submitting a package to become an officer.
“I am really excited to see what the Marine Corps has in store for me,” said Lara. “I’m going to try to do great things.”