![]() Fighting the swirling sand, Varga ensured that the squadron’s computers, which tracked maintenance and mission planning, operated properly. He deployed with helicopter squadron HMLA 367 to Camp Bastion, a NATO base in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand Province. Varga’s training stateside was put into practice overseas in October 2009. There was constant construction going on at the base, so crews would cut cables … there were quite a few problems.” All of the networks are hard wired - no Wi-Fi. “I remember digging trenches to run cables through hard-packed desert. He joined the fleet at Camp Pendleton, Calif., in July 2008, and spent the next 15 months maintaining computer software and network hardware for helicopter squadrons. Along the way, Varga went from high school graduate to computer systems specialist. One conversation led to another, and before long, he had signed on for a five-year enlistment with a contract in aviation electronics, “a great technical field where you could learn a lot,” he said.Įnlistment included a 687-mile trip south to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, S.C., for basic and combat training, then 220 miles northwest to Athens, Ga., for computer training. The first step took him to a Marine recruiter. So Varga started a five-year journey to discover his calling. Sitting at home in Moon Township, Pa., wasn’t an option, either. “ just didn’t seem like the right opportunity for me at the time,” he said. Calm and positive by nature, he was preparing to graduate from high school, unfazed by the fact that he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life or what he would study if he went to college. “We do share a bond that we don’t with our other classmates, even though we come from all different backgrounds.”įrom the base of their little group, they’ve deployed into the Colgate community: interacting, enhancing, and providing a distinct perspective.īack in 2007, Kevin Varga ’16 knew what he didn’t know. Their varied interests at Colgate take them in separate directions, but the four “get together every once in a while, just to see how everybody is doing,” Luntzel said. The rafting trip was one example of how they welcomed each other and formed an alliance from day one. On campus, they’ve lived together in various combinations, with the exception of Luntzel, who is married. Later, they received a personal introduction when Ross interviewed Varga, Luntzel, and Coladarci in California at Camp Pendleton (a base under the command of Brigadier General Edward Banta ’86, P’19), and spoke to Nettnin by phone. ![]() Varga, Nettnin, Luntzel, and Coladarci were introduced to Colgate through a Marine administrative message from Beth Morgan. In addition to offering Yellow Ribbon matching grants, Colgate goes above and beyond: vets who enroll will incur no more than $2,000 in tuition and all other charges (such as room and board) in any given year. Through General Morgan’s efforts, Marines who are finishing their service learn about Colgate’s participation in these programs supporting veterans’ educations. He also spread the word about Colgate’s strong liberal arts education to the senior commanders within the Marine Corps. Next, Morgan reached out to his daughter, Beth Morgan, who is director of the Leadership Scholar Program and once worked in the student affairs division at Colgate. Morgan called up Gary Ross ’77, Colgate’s dean of admission, and got him on board. He had been following the development of the national Yellow Ribbon Program as it came to fruition in 2008, bolstering tuition benefits to veterans through the Post-9/11 G.I. “The puzzle I was looking at was, what could we do to open the doors to veterans at Colgate,” said Morgan, who retired in 1988 as assistant commandant (the second-highest ranking officer) of the Marine Corps. General Tom Morgan ’52 tied the knot between the Leadership Scholar Program and Colgate. They then welcomed Luntzel and Coladarci with an “Ooh Rah!” Varga and Nettnin were the first to come to Colgate through the Leadership Scholar Program, which assists Marines with college admissions nationally. Their personalities differ greatly, but because of their shared experiences, a natural brotherhood exists. Although it was their first time meeting, there was no need to test the waters of their soon-to-be friendship as Marines, they assumed an instant bond.Ĭurrently, at Colgate, four Marine veterans are on a mission to secure a liberal arts education: Varga, Coladarci, Cory Nettnin ’16, and Dan Luntzel ’17. ![]() In the summer of 2014, just before Peter Coladarci ’18 pulled onto the shores of Taylor Lake for the first time, he spent the weekend white-water rafting in Pennsylvania with Kevin Varga ’16. ![]()
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