2 6 • GCU TODAY
GCU
Alumni
K
elsey Davis had it all figured out.
After research, trial and error and
some guidance from her mentors,
she had settled on a degree in
criminal justice from Grand Canyon University
and planned to become an FBI agent.
Then it hit her. She was at The Gathering,
the student worship service on Tuesday nights,
only weeks before graduation last year and was
reflecting on the many leadership roles she had
held at GCU. Suddenly, she felt a frightening
and yet fitting calling from the Lord.
She needed to join the military. And, as it
turned out, not just any branch of the military
— she eventually decided to enlist in the
toughest one of all, the Marine Corps.
“Joining the military sounds crazy to me,”
Davis confessed to her peers. “But it also brings
to mind the thought of the disciples as Jesus
comes to the water and all of the disciples but
Peter sit in the boat. Peter is the safest because
he’s looking into the eyes of Jesus. That is my
goal, to be like Peter.”
Davis, 23, said that for a long time she
struggled with the thought of becoming a
Marine, but after meeting with a recruiter she
instantly changed her mind.
She took on 12 weeks of intense classroom,
drills and field training at the Marine Corps
Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va.,
where she was the second youngest member and
one of 65 women in her platoon. In November,
she graduated as second lieutenant along with
27 others who made it through the course.
Since then, she has been training at The
Basic School in Quantico to prepare for duty.
As a newly commissioned Marine officer,
Davis already has made a good impression by
outshooting the males and earning two Expert
Marine Corps Marksmanship Qualification
Badges, one for the service rifle and one for the
service pistol.
When she completes her training in July,
Davis will move on to a military occupational
specialty school, where the Marine Corps will
determine which career Davis will tackle.
“The Marine Corps is everything that I
have wanted to be and everything that I know
I have the potential to be,” Davis said. “It is
surrounded by wholehearted leadership, pride
and honor, and it encourages that a limit does
not exist.”
Davis said her degree is only a small part of
what she got out of GCU.
“I always knew God had brought me to GCU
to find my purpose,” she said. “I don’t think
anyone saw this coming — I didn’t see this
coming. But one thing I’ve learned through
this experience is that God does not make any
mistakes.”
Recruited by God
Kelsey Davis felt a higher calling . . . to join the Marines
B Y J E A N N E T T E C R U Z
Kelsey Davis graduated
in November as a second
lieutenant from the Marine
Corps Officer Candidate
School. She is scheduled to
complete her training in July.
