Justin McAdams has spent much of his freshman year struggling to keep up with the pace of college.
His classes begin at 8:30 a.m. most mornings and don’t stop until late in the afternoon. He sometimes stops at the library between classes just to get a nap in.
It’s a normal struggle for freshmen, but McAdams, a computer engineering major, isn’t a normal freshman. He is starting college at 23 after joining the U.S. Marine Corps out of high school.
“I’ve definitely had moments where people are like, ‘Wait, how old are you?’” McAdams said, “And when I tell them I’m 23, they’re very surprised.”
Because of his late start, McAdams has had to deal with some abnormal stresses. The struggle to get schoolwork completed is much different than what he experienced while serving in the Quantico Marine Corps Band and the III Marine Expeditionary Force Band.
“The military has got a lot of stress, but you’re talking more physical and emotional stress,” he said.
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