Los Fresnos High School senior Osvaldo “Ozzy” Perales is getting a free ride at Texas A&M University for four years compliments of the Navy, which awarded him its $180,000 Immediate Scholarship Reservation.
The next ride he gets compliments of the Navy will be on a nuclear-powered submarine. Perales said that after graduating from A&M he’ll enter the Navy on a six-year enlistment, starting officer training and nuclear engineering school the first year, after which he’ll be commissioned as an ensign, work his way up through the ranks and then probably reenlist.
“My intention is to hopefully maybe go for the full 20 years,” Perales said.
He said he’s a little nervous but excited about the career path before him. Perales was among only 150 students nationwide to receive the scholarship, which recognizes exceptional leadership and academic achievements. In awarding the scholarships, the Navy looks for applicants with good grades and who are physically fit and participate in extracurricular activities, he said.
Commander D.J. Jackson, deputy director of Outreach and Diversity for Navy Recruiting Command, presented Perales with the scholarship during a ceremony at Los Fresnos High School on May 13.
Perales credited his Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor for telling him about the scholarship, his father for inspiring a career in the military, and a particular friend for giving Perales “that shove to join my ROTC unit at school.”
He said he was pretty sure by 10th grade that he wanted to join the Navy, and was drawn to the military even earlier. His father served in the Air Force, but Perales said he was more attracted to the Navy because of the variety of opportunities catering to his interest in nuclear engineering. Also, in the Navy he’ll get to travel, he said.
Much of that travel will be under the waves. Perales said the thought of long stretches underwater is a little intimidating, though not enough to deter him. Also, compared to a surface vessel like an aircraft carrier with its thousands of crew members, most of whom you never meet, Perales said he likes the idea of being part of a tight-knit team.
“I talked to people that used to be nuclear engineers and nuclear mechanics in subs, and they say that since it’s a much smaller ship you get closer to all the people,” he said. “You kind of know everyone that’s on the submarine with you.”
