# @nauflagstaff on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DCIJBi4Tn6P
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/24716512-nauflagstaff-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/7c689b3183.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-11-08T22:30:19.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Northern Arizona University (@nauflagstaff) — https://gondola.cc/nauflagstaff

## Caption

#FacesofNAU Get to Know Lumberjack Nick Avelar, U.S. Marine Corps veteran ⁠
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"I'm 1️⃣ year away from becoming the first person in my immediate family to graduate from college. ⁠
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👀 It goes back to those values my dad taught me. ⁠
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He told me to look down the road of where you want to be. It might be far away, but as long as you have goals in place to achieve what you set out to do, and you keep checking off those goals, it doesn’t seem so unattainable.⁠
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🇺🇸 Military life⁠
When you’re lifting a pack that’s over 100 pounds, carrying it from sundown to sunup and becoming more and more sleep-deprived, you learn the human mind is even stronger than the human body.⁠
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My team leader became hospitalized toward the end of my workup, and I took over. I was 20, and I had about 14 people reporting to me. ⁠
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Then I got deployed to Iraq in 2019, quick reaction force for adjacent units and security force for a small camp out there. I became a vehicle commander, engaging with the Iraqi forces with our linguist, Mo, over tea and cigarettes. ⁠
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All of them said what they wanted most was for life to feel normal. ⁠
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They wanted the life we had in the United States, the freedoms we enjoyed. It was an eye-opening experience. I didn’t want to waste my freedom. My dad worked so hard to give it to me.⁠
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🎓Future Plans⁠
I’ve always had that calling to help people through some sort of public service. I picked my minor after taking two classes with Professor Eyal Bar.⁠
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After graduation, I would ideally like to work for the U.S. Marshals Service or the Department of Homeland Security. ⁠
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As long as I’m doing something along the lines of criminal investigation, I’ll be a happy camper."⁠
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#VeteransWeek #StudentVeteran #StudentVet #LumberjackSpotlight #NAULumberjacks #MarineCorpsVet #November #Veteran⁠
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## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 3,725
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- **Comments:** 15

## Tags

facesofnau, november, studentveteran, veteran, studentvet, lumberjackspotlight, veteransweek, naulumberjacks, marinecorpsvet

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