April 17, 2023 | Bryan Wanzer

Find Your Grind Welcomes US Army Mentors

Find Your Grind’s recent trip to Fort Campbell, Tennessee brings four new inspiring mentors from the US Army including 2022 Army Soldier of the Year, Specialist Samuel Alvarez

Find Your Grind is focused on showcasing mentors from a wide variety of industries, backgrounds, and pathways. We believe that students should pursue pathways that help them achieve their desired lifestyle instead of just following those around them. For many young people, this means joining the US military.

“All my friends started applying to college… and I always just knew that wasn’t for me. I knew I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something bigger than myself. So I actually took the step in enlisting into the military.”
Sgt. Andrew Row, Find Your Grind Mentor

Opportunities

The six branches of the US military have an amazing array of careers and pathways and offer enlistees with numerous benefits, steady employment, and the opportunity to build important skills for life. In addition to a regular paycheck, healthcare, retirement benefits, and college tuition assistance, service members gain impactful power skills that help them succeed while enlisted, and serve them well when they enter the workforce. Skills like leadership, discipline, focus, drive, and perseverance are in high demand and can be leveraged in both military and civilian life.

“The Army presents a lot of opportunities to really grow as a person and presents a lot of challenges on a day to day basis. And it really just helped me as a person grow versus… what I was doing as a civilian. [It] presents a lot of challenges and a lot of experience.”
Sgt. Jared Kiner, Find Your Grind Mentor

To create this amazing mentor content, Find Your Grind’s multimedia team took a trip to Fort Campbell, Tennessee to meet with four members of the US Army, including the 2022 Army Soldier of the Year, Samuel Alvarez. From these interviews, we have created over 65 bite-sized videos that demonstrate the experiences, stories and advice of these incredible mentors and their careers.

Welcome Our New Mentors

Spc. Samuel Alvarez, 11B Infantryman

Spc. Samuel Alvarez was crowned the US Army Soldier of the Year in 2022. In his interview, Samuel explains how he got his start in the military and how it helps him live the life he wants to live. He constantly strives to be the best version of himself – pushing through mental and physical barriers to grow and succeed.

Sfc. Brandon Rodriguez, Scout Platoon Sergeant

Sfc. Brandon Rodriguez has been in the Army for over 15 years and is currently in a leadership position overseeing 40+ people in his platoon. The Army provided Brandon the training and opportunity to develop leadership skills he uses every day to create other young leaders and ensure his platoon is ready, whenever they are called to duty.

Sgt. Jared Kiner, 11W Combat Medic

Sgt. Jared Kiner is a combat medic and explains how his interest in medicine and the Army overlap, while also giving advice to young folks thinking about joining the military. Jared understands the impact he has on the world bringing modern medicine oversees, helping injured service members, and potentially saving a life.

Sgt. Andrew Row, 11B Infantryman

Sgt. Andrew Row is a senior sniper in the 101st Airborne Division. Andrew defines success as being happy and doing what he loves, which is exactly what the Army allows him to do every day. One of his biggest strengths is developing relationships with other soldiers through shared hardships, which has also helped him become an impactful leader.