By Tracy Sun
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As Sergeant Leroy Perez stands behind a neatly set-up booth with a wide array of pencils, stickers and pamphlets, a group of students gathers around. Some pick up the free trinkets, while a select few seriously question his partner and him about the Marine Corps.

Although Perez and other military recruiters come here every mid-month, many students are curious about the recruiting process and the men and women behind the uniforms.

Perez is by no means a stranger to this school; he has been coming here for almost two years, trying to inform and enlighten students interested in joining the Marine Corps. While many people may perceive military recruiters as aggressive and forceful, Perez said he takes a different approach and that the students are the ones that speak to him.

“(Students) come up to us,” Perez said. “We don’t bother them while they’re eating. Obviously, lunch is so you can eat and relax and take a break from classes.”

Perez said that once a student expresses interest in joining the Marines and asks for information, he informs him or her of the requirements and processes of preparation.

“First of all, we need to find if you’re mentally and physically qualified to be a Marine,” Perez said. “And if you are and you are interested in the Marines, you join up when you are in high school or after you graduate from high school. Then you’re in the delayed entry program, which is a program we use to get you physically and mentally ready for boot camp. After that you go to boot camp and you do your job.”

Perez talked about advantages to joining the military and believes students can achieve their goals of what they want to become. Perez joined the Marine Corps right out of high school and plans to remain in the military for another 20 years.

“There are many benefits in joining the Marines. They include financial security, travel, medical benefits, dental benefits, a job and something you can do as a career. Some kids want to be doctors, some want to be lawyers, some want to be mechanics, some want to be police officers. We describe a way we can help them achieve their goals in life,” Perez said.

Staff Sergeant William Genochio, who is Perez’s recruiting partner here, said he has recruited four or five students here in one year. Genochio also recruits at other schools like Sheridan, Hamilton Heights, Tipton, Noblesville and Westfield High School. He is a 27-year-old who has been in the Marines for seven years, previously working in the mechanics field. Genochio said the Marines provided him with something he could not obtain at another career path.

“I wanted to be the best of the best. It’s something I always wanted to do. It provided opportunities you can’t get elsewhere other than the military. I’ve always been an adventurous kind of guy, I wanted to serve the country patriotically, the whole nine yards,” Genochio said.

Recently, there has been widespread criticism of military recruiting in schools by parents and counter recruiters. Perez and Genochio both said they believe recruiters like themselves are doing nothing wrong.

“Everybody has freedom of speech. If you don’t want us to talk to your individual child, we won’t, but we need to know these things,” Perez said.

Despite the criticism of recruiters, many students continue to approach the Marine Corps booth, ask questions and acquire more information.

Sophomore Daniel Li considers joining the military and has talked to Perez and other recruiters. “Joining the Marines takes a lot of hard work. The guys I talked to gave me a lot of information and a lot to think about,” Li said.

Although Perez said there are many qualified and interested students here, he said recruiting is a difficult task.

“It’s a hard job to sway someone because if they haven’t thought about joining the military, then they’re probably not going to be in the military, but most people who want to join have thought about it for a long time, for more than three or four or five years. That’s the people who join, not the people who randomly join. It doesn’t work like that.”