Gerry Amundson

On first impression, junior Gerry Amundson really looks like your average college student. Only his closely shorn haircut gives any evidence that the outdoor recreation major spent nearly 15 years as a United States Marine, traveling all over the world in a number of capacities before enrolling at Baylor a year ago.
"I think I'm lucky, because I look younger and so a lot of people don't realize that I'm 34; they just kind of figure it's like, 'Oh, he was in the military, so he did that for like four years and he's like 26,'" Amundson says.
Coming out of high school, the Port Townsend, Wash., native joined the Marines. After two years working on airplane computers as an avionics technician, Amundson moved into diplomatic security, where he helped protect American embassies in Guatemala, Syria and the United Arab Emirates over the next three years. He then went back to work in avionics and also served as a recruiter before deciding it was time to pursue a different path.
"It was a very hard decision, because I did really well," he says. "I just got to the point where it wasn't what I wanted to do. I didn't want to be stuck inside with a job, and that's what it was; in my job, you worked in like a 10-by-20-foot metal box, because they couldn't have any radio waves interfering with the computers you're working on. No windows, no fresh air... I want to be outside. That's why I want to be a park ranger. So I talked to my fiancé at the time and we decided that I should finish my degree and do something I want to do."
Amundson's then-fiancé (now wife), Paula, was being stationed at Fort Hood, an Army post about halfway between Waco and Austin, where she currently works at Darnall Army Medical Center. That led Amundson to look at universities around central Texas.
"I looked at Texas, Texas A&M, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Baylor; pretty much they all had programs I wanted to go into, but Baylor had more of the atmosphere I wanted, too," he recalls. "I liked the reputation of Baylor. And then also I didn't want to be in a class full of 200 other students where their faculty would never know their names. I know all my faculty very well; my largest class this semester I think we have 25 students, and I think that's just great."
The scholarships Amundson found at Baylor also helped ease the transition from full-time work back to being a student. Among the funds that assisted Amundson was the Dicken and Windle Families Endowed Scholarship Fund, established in 2000 by William and Sally Ann Dicken Windle to support students who are active duty members, reservists or veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.
"I was an E-7 in the Marine Corps, and E-9's the highest you can get. So I made really good money. Leaving and having to come to a private institution... If I didn't have some of the scholarships, I don't know if I could afford to be here. But that's something that's great about private institutions--there's a lot more scholarships available versus a public institution."
Now married and with a child due in February, Amundson will graduate in December 2009. With only a year of college life remaining, he recently cut his work schedule down to be able to experience more of Baylor, from sporting events to volunteer efforts like working with Special Olympics.
"I am very, very happy being at Baylor. The small classes are awesome, and I know my teachers. I just don't think if I went to another university I would have the same feeling."