Born to Leo and Theresa Zainea in Grand Rapids, MI, I was raised in Jackson, MI. I have one other sibling, Angela, who is a 2003 graduate of WMU. My father, now retired, was a writer, and my mother works with retirement accounts. While growing up in Jackson, I attended Catholic schools until I eventually graduated from Lumen Christi High School in 2001. While in high school I ran for the track team for 3 years, competing at the regional level in the 100m dash. I also played football for 4 years, winning a state championship my senior year, finishing with a perfect record of 14-0. After high school I chose to attend the small school of Adrian College. The opportunity to play collegiate level football is what mainly persuaded me. After a year at Adrian, I realized that was not the path I wanted to go down, so I made a drastic change, and enlisted into the Marine Corps.
In May of 2002, I was sent to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, CA, for basic training, and graduated in late August. I would next be sent to Camp Lejuene, NC, for my occupational school; "The School of Infantry." Here I was taught all the basic skills that are common to an infantryman. A few months after graduating from SOI, I was sent overseas to participate in "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
In February of 2004 I chose to leave Active Duty to pursue a career as an officer in the Marine Corps. To be an officer, one must possess a bachelors degree, which brings me here; Western Michigan University.
Arriving at Western, I knew I wanted to major in Exercise Science, it was something that interested me, and something I could incorporate in my daily life as a military officer. Now, 23 years old, I hope to graduate in the spring of 2007, go back on Active Duty, and if all goes well, finish my career as an officer of Marines.
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