Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 3 | January 2018

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44 Inside Hokie Sports
Jones, too, balanced the rigors of playing a
sport—football—while also maintaining a
focus on his academic work.
Perhaps more importantly, though, they
witnessed the various leadership styles of
their coaches and their team captains and
have carried those with them so far on this
journey.
“I think football was a huge, huge, asset
in just overall giving me that leadership and
confidence in talking to different people
and having the confidence to lead a group of
individuals through different exercises and
events that I’ve gone through in my career,”
Jones said. “I’d say football has definitely paid
off, and I’m forever grateful of having that
opportunity to play for Virginia Tech.”
Jones played in 22 games in his Tech career
as a free safety, while Harper scored points for
the Hokies in the backstroke and individual
medley events at the ACC Championships
in each of her four years. Also, both left with
degrees, as Jones graduated with a degree in
human development, while Harper departed
with two degrees—a bachelor’s in English and
a master’s in education.
Now, they’re preparing for the next step
in their careers. Harper and Jones both have
moved on to TBS—The Basic School—there
at Quantico, where they will receive more
training over the course of the next six
months. The training includes fitness tests,
field exercises, and academic courses. Once
they pass TBS, they receive their MOS, which
stands for military occupational specialty.
In short, their MOS is what they will be
doing for the rest of their careers as Marines.
Harper expressed interests in public affairs
and ground intelligence, the latter of which
would require her to pass a 13-week infantry
officers course—a brutal course passed by just
one female since the Corps implemented it.
“I’m considering whether or not that’s
something I’ll shoot for,” she said. “Ideally,
I would like to, if my body were able to hold
together, but we’ll see.”
Such a path ultimately could put her in
combat situations. Jones, too, finds himself on
a similar road. He wants to be in the infantry,
or work as a combat engineer.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” he
said. “It’s been a goal of mine for a while. I
have a couple of buddies that have gone down
the route of being a Navy SEAL or have done
something along the lines of combat arms.
It’s just been an honor to serve in the United
States Marine Corps and have the opportunity
to pursue my dreams.”
Both of them speak confidently about their
decisions and futures. They made this choice,
and now that they’ve moved on to the next
stage, they harbor no shred of regret.
As former Tech student-athletes in the ACC,
they know what it means to be in intense and
demanding situations, and certainly being a
Marine is a rather ambitious way of satisfying
their competitive urges. After all, the stakes
are so much higher.
Yet neither would have
it any other way.
“This was a no
brainer,” Jones said. “The
minute I stepped into
training at OCS, I knew
this was definitely where
I needed to be. I can see
myself really making a
career and taking this the
distance and serving my
country to the best of my
abilities.”
“Everyday, I lookdown
at my ‘cammies’—our
service uniforms—and I
get to see my last name
right next to the U.S.
Marines,” Harper said.
“And I’m so proud and
so honored to get to wear
the uniform.”
SALUTING
two former
STUDENT-ATHLETES
Continued from page 43
Greg Jones played football
and graduated from
Virginia Tech and is in
the process of pursuing a
career in the Marines.