His grandparents served in the Vietnam War.
60 years and two generations later, senior William (Will) Hazen chose the same path: service.
Unlike his grandparents, one of whom was in the Air Force and the other a field medic, Hazen plans on serving in the US Marine Corps, the most demanding branch of the US military.
“The Marine Corps is like the 911 of the military,” Hazen said. “If the President ever needs boots on the ground quickly, it’s the Marine Corps that he calls. He doesn’t call the army. He doesn’t call the Air Force. The Marine’s mindset feels tougher than some of the other service branches. I feel like that fits more into who I am as a person.”
In addition to his grandparents, Hazen was inspired to serve after seeing his brother AJ Hazen go to the US Naval Academy two years ago.
“Neither of my parents actually served, but seeing my brother serving, I realized I love what he’s doing at the Naval Academy,” Hazen said.
Hazen won the NROTC Marine Option Scholarship in late January, a full-ride scholarship allowing him to attend any university of his choosing with a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Program.
AJ Hazen applied for the same scholarship and won it just two years prior.
“Since we are pretty similar on paper, I felt confident,” Hazen said. “Since my sophomore year, I’ve wanted to follow in his footsteps. When I got the call, I went to dinner that night with my family, and there was a presentation done in my Calculus class the following Tuesday. My family was there, some marine guys with cameras, Principal Niggli, Ms. Thomas, everyone was there.”
When Hazen told his brother he was applying, AJ Hazen was “happy but not surprised.”
“We had been talking about it for a while, and I knew it was the right path for him,” AJ Hazen said. “Will is a natural leader always looking to bring others up, and he has shown that through being a captain on the football team and through any other leadership opportunities he is given.”
The scholarship was an over-three-month application process for Hazen beginning in the summer before his senior year.
“The scholarship is extremely competitive,” College Access Coordinator Jasmine Thomas said. “Will is not just competing with students within this campus, but people in our region, our state, and around the country. It’s also not just all about academics, but a fitness test and a general military test called ASVAB must be completed as well. There are many different things that he had to do to even qualify for the scholarship.”
Hazen had to write five essays; interview with three different Marine Corps lieutenants; and do a physical fitness test consisting of 20 pull ups, a four-minute plank and a three-mile run in 18 minutes.
“It was a lot,” Hazen said. “Up until November, almost every single day I was doing something that was related to this scholarship. The application alone took more time and effort than all 10 of my other college applications combined.”
According to Hazen, the application process was “five months of intense training and just waiting for the call.” But one injury made him doubt if that call would ever come.
“During football season, I hurt my shoulder pretty badly during our first game, and I was worried the program would disqualify me as a candidate,” Hazen said. “The military is super strict on their requirements regarding medical history. I tried to keep it quiet, but I did rehab on my shoulder every single day because I was worried. I always called the marine guys up to make sure I was still in good standing with everything.”
Hazen believes that, beyond physical training, football has established daily habits to set him up for success in the military.
“I’ve been waking up at six in the morning to go to football practice basically every single day over the summer and during the season,” Hazen said. “It’s going to be a lot of early mornings, a lot of conditioning, a lot of hard physical stuff. I’ve been pushing through those barriers and those challenges for the past four years.”
Through a laborious process of training and recovery, Hazen’s motivation was sparked through one simple value.
“Being able to serve my country means everything,” Hazen said. “The threat of actually going to war is obviously a super scary thing. If I actually get into combat, I’m literally putting my life on the line since we’ll be on the front lines doing everything we can. But I want to help out in any way I can to better the country, especially with everything going on right now. We are divided.”
That motivation, according to Thomas, is something the Marines actively look for when recruiting.
“It doesn’t take a lot for him to put his all into something,” Thomas said. “He’s just very humble and a really good person. I know that the Marines specifically look for those traits. He is so driven and adamant about being successful, and you have to have that mindset for any branch of the military, but especially in the Marines.”
Head Football Coach and Athletic Coordinator Herbert Kunz has seen that mindset both on and off the field.
“Will had innate leadership capabilities from day one,” Kunz said. “He commands respect, but he’s also empathetic. He’s able to step in front of a group of people and they automatically give him respect, and in turn, he provides leadership in a very empathetic way that helps everybody around him. We measure leadership by the ability to make the people around you better, and he certainly does.”
Since Hazen’s scholarship is intended to pay a full ride to the university of his choice, it didn’t take long for schools to notice him.
“My dad posted about the scholarship on his Linkedin, and he got DMed by an admissions officer at Cornell saying ‘we’d like to have Will at the school,’” Hazen said. “The superintendent at the Virginia Military Institute also DMed him in 30 minutes. It’s kind of crazy to me.”
Despite getting offers from multiple top schools, Hazen committed to the University of San Diego, a private Catholic university, as he loves the city he’d be in for the next four years. But even after his scholarship was awarded, Hazen still believes he has to “earn it, every single day.”
“Now that I’ve won this opportunity, I’m training even harder,” Hazen said. “Just because I got the scholarship doesn’t mean it’s fully mine. Something can always happen, so I just want to be as prepared as I can. When I start meeting the other guys, I want to be the best among the other scholarship winners.”
Although Hazen has worked hard for years leading up to this opportunity, its magnitude can often go unrecognized by the larger student body.
“A lot of people think going into the military is beneath them, but that’s not at all how it is,” Hazen said. “They think ‘Oh, if you’re a dummy in high school, you just go serve.’ But it’s pretty hard to be a leader and sacrifice yourself for your country. A lot of times, when you look at successful people or famous people, you’ll find out that they served. It builds the discipline that you need to be successful.”
Hazen didn’t achieve this award alone. From his childhood, his brother has been a personal inspiration.
“As his older brother, I am very happy for him and glad he is following a similar path to me,” AJ Hazen said. “I think this opportunity is going to do amazing things for his leadership skills and will develop him into the man and leader that this world needs right now.”
When thinking about his future ahead, Hazen doesn’t blink at the chance of failure; he expects it.
“If I just go in confident, it’ll turn out better for me,” Hazen said. “ I’ve been thinking about and wanting to serve since I was a kid. I’m expecting challenges and doubt to happen, but I’m prepared. Whatever I go through in these four years of college, and then the four years of service, I’ll be a completely different person.”
To Thomas, that determination will stick with Hazen for the rest of his life.
“This opportunity is a lifelong commitment,” Thomas said. “You really are changing the trajectory of your life forever. Not only is he going to be serving his country, but by the time he finishes everything he is supposed to do for this program, he will be an officer. Committing your life to something says a lot.”
For the average student, a future unknown may seem terrifying, but Hazen isn’t worried.
“Doing hard things and facing your fears is what makes people who they are,” Hazen said. “Fear doesn’t make me doubt my path; it’s just something I’m going to have to face. Any challenge that I face, I’m just going to keep thinking about the outcome, and I’ll get through it.”
