|
Posted 2.24.05 |
| It’s
been a very long time since we graduated from Oñate
High School.
Since
then, we have all wandered along our own chosen paths to seek out our
fortunes in life. Who among us has
not wondered how our classmates have done on their adventures?
How many times have you asked
yourself... Where are they now? |
|
 -
-
-
- Some of us might remember BEN
HENRY, Oñate
High School
alum and class of ’93 graduate,
as one of Oñates' football & track heroes. He took the Knights to
victory after victory more than ten years ago.
Today, Ben is still a hero, protecting our country as a First
Lieutenant in the Army. We caught up with Ben via email from
Iraq
to ask him a few questions about
life since OHS...
|
|
What
can you tell us about your life right now?
|
|
I am currently a First
Lieutenant in the Army. My present assignment is the Executive
Officer of an Infantry company stationed at
Fort Hood
, TX. As
I write this I am in the middle of the desert southwest of Baghdad,
Iraq.
I am also engaged and plan to marry in July of 2005 in New York. I still enjoy football and love to travel. |
|
How
did you get from Oñate
High
School
to where you are now? |
|
From graduation till now
has been an interesting adventure. After
graduation I mooched off my Dad for almost a year before joining the
Army Reserve in Las Cruces. After
that I moved to
Texas
and enrolled at Texas Tech and pledged
a Fraternity, which led to my grades going completely downhill. I
was eventually placed on academic probation. I
was a little worried and thought the best course of action was to join
the Army full time to clear my head a bit. After
finals at Tech I moved to
Fort Polk, Louisiana. I
was stationed there for two years and spent 3 months in
Bosnia. I
then accepted an appointment to the United States
Military
Academy, West Point, NY. Four
long, long years later, I graduated and was commissioned an officer in
the Army. A few months
before I graduated I met my fiancé in
Jamaica
on spring break. I
did a year of Infantry training for the Army in Georgia
and moved to my duty station at Fort
Hood, which is just north of Austin,
TX. I
have been in
Iraq
for the last 12 months and should be
home by March 2005.
|
|
What
were your goals when you were at OHS?
Have they changed along the way?
|
|
My goals at OHS were just
to get into any college. I never really planned on anything after that.
All I wanted to do was keg stands and hopefully I would get a degree out
of it. I never wanted to be
in the military, it just worked out that way. Once I became involved I
loved it.
|
|
What
are your goals for the future?
|
|
My goals these days are to
have a family and enjoy the simple things in life.
|
|
Do
you feel that you have achieved “success”?
What is your idea of “success”?
|
|
Success; it’s hard to
put my finger on it. Success
to me is when you go to bed at night and realize that you have done
everything you could do that day to get whatever it is you want done. In
my job I have to worry about 125 guys and there is always something I
could do for them. Each day brings a different criteria for success. I
don’t mean to sound all philosophical, but that’s how I see it.
I’m continually thriving for “success.”
|
|
If
you could to do one thing different in your life, what would that be?
|
|
If I could do one thing
different in my life it would probably be spending more time with my
family. You never know when
might be the last day you see them.
|
|
Was
there anyone at OHS who inspired you? |
|
This sounds crazy but
Coach Essex was the one guy who inspired me. He
was always and I mean always in my face. I
remember giving up the only touchdown on Homecoming our senior year and
he just drilled into me. I
wanted to make him proud and I would have done anything he asked. I did
not play very well for him, but he always pushed me and later in life it
paid off. I just wish he
could’ve seen me play in college, which would have been full circle
for me.
|
|
What
advice would you give to a new generation of
Oñate
High School
students
who will graduate into the “real world” soon?
|
|
Advice for the new
graduates: follow your dreams. It
may take time, but things always work out in the end if you stick with
it. High school is just a
small step in life.
|
|
What
is your most cherished recollection of your time at OHS? |
|
My most cherished memories
of Oñate were Friday night games, Saturday track meets, and all the
crazy parties that we threw in between. When
I look back I’m thankful to still be alive today after some of those
parties.
|
|
What
do you miss about OHS or your years as a high school student?
|
|
What I miss about high
school is my free living lifestyle.
I didn’t worry about anything.
All I had to do was wake up and go to class.
|
|
When
was the last time you were in
Las Cruces
?
|
|
I was in
Las Cruces
during the summer of 2001. I was doing
Army training over at
Fort
Bliss
in
El Paso
. I got a hold of Steve Adams and drove
up to visit one weekend. I couldn’t believe how much Cruces had grown.
It was nice to see Steve and reminisce about the old days.
|
|
Do
you plan to attend the proposed 15-year reunion in 2008?
|
|
I’ll probably try and
make the 15-year reunion. It would be nice to see everyone again.
|
|
