With a family history of military members and law enforcement, senior Jordan Deyo has always been exposed to the lifestyle and stories of a soldier. Now, at the end of her high school years, she’s only months away from joining the Air Force and getting sent away to fight for her country.

“My grandmother was in the military, specifically the Air Force, which is what I want to go into,” Deyo said. “And I’m in a law enforcement family. Being in that environment just got me really interested in [the military]. My end goal is to be a police officer, and that would give me a lot of experience as well as help pay for my college in the future and give me a very strong foundation to where I want to go.”

Although she has always been interested in the military because of her family, Deyo said that it wasn’t until high school that she started to learn more about her options.

“I’ve always wanted to be a police officer, like as long as I can remember,” Deyo said. “Being introduced to the idea that I could go into the military my freshman year and talking to my first recruiters got me really interested in that option.”

Deyo said that her step-dad, who she calls Sarge, has been a big influence in her life and her decision to join the military. She said that he has encouraged her to follow her dreams.

“Kind of like me, [my step-dad] wasn’t the best high school student,” Deyo said. “He didn’t get straight A’s. Now, he has a great job that he wanted and he did the military. He said it was a really good experience for him. Sometimes, in the moment you’re like ‘why the heck did I do this to myself? I’m in the middle of a desert and I’m sleeping on the ground, why did I do this to myself?’ But he has time and time again told me that it was definitely worth it and his career is what he wanted to do.”

Deyo said that she doesn’t know exactly what job she wants in the Air Force, but she was influenced to choose this branch by her grandmother, who has supported her and guided her through the entire process.

“My grandma, from the first time I ever told her that I was interested, was over the moon about it,” Deyo said. “None of my cousins and none of her grandkids are really interested in this field at all, law enforcement, military, nothing like that. I’m kind of the only one on that side of the family and since she was in the Air Force as well, she thought it was a really good idea for me to do it too. She has encouraged me and tried to help me prepare and given me a lot of advice.”

When she first thought about joining the military, Deyo said that it was hard to imagine since it was at least four years away. Now that she’s a senior, Deyo said she is excited but also surprised at how fast the years went by.

“When I first thought about it, it didn’t seem real,” Deyo said. “It was so far away. I was a freshman. It was four years. I had all of this time to think about it and all this time to prepare. I was really excited, obviously, and I still am, but now it’s just much more real.”

For people thinking about joining the military, Deyo said to keep in mind that choosing to join is a big decision and it is important to not go in with the wrong expectations.

“You shouldn’t go into it for the wrong reasons,” Deyo said. “If you are just doing it for helping with college money, I wouldn’t do it. I think going into the military is a very serious decision for your life and I think it’s definitely good for a lot of people [because] there are a lot more people who would benefit from it. [If you] go in for the wrong reasons, you will just be let down and it’s going to be 10 times harder. Just have an open mind and if you want to do it, do it.”

After the military, Deyo said that she plans on going to college and eventually into the police force.

“I probably would like to be somewhere in Texas for college,” Deyo said. “Texas State most likely. I always thought I wanted to be at a big police department to work on real crimes and real stuff, but after doing my COOL Week internship at the Cedar Park Police Department, I would definitely consider working for Cedar Park Police Department because it’s a really good place.”