My educational journey: Many are given options; I created my own! Published April 2, 2012 By Senior Airman Steven Rookwood 88th Security Forces Squadron WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- I arrived at my current duty station -- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio -- April 5, 2009 with the mindset of pursuing education. Throughout my time in basic training and technical school, I had vowed to myself I would attain my Community College of the Air Force degree before my peers and stay ahead of the game so I would never have to play catch up. But the fact of the matter was that I was a United States Airman who had greater responsibilities than my own accomplishments; I owed the military my duty, and in the midst of signing up for my first course I was tasked to deploy in August 2009. There are many Airmen who get overwhelmed with the tasking of deployments, family and additional work studies such as Career Development Courses. My attitude was not to panic but instead to persevere and persist toward all of my future goals. After settling into my new home that the Air Force provided for six months in Afghanistan, I developed a well-thought out plan on how to pass my end of course examination for my CDC's so I could move on to my real goal: finishing my CCAF and bachelor's degrees. After a short two months of studying for my CDC examination, I was ready to test. The day of the test I can honestly say I wasn't the least bit worried for two reasons: I felt I had prepared myself to the best of my abilities, and I knew it would bring me one step closer to reaching my ultimate goal. The test took me approximately 30 minutes and I received my score. The score of a 94 was self-motivating and boosted my confidence and understanding that preparation is the key. The excitement of finally starting school, during a deployment no less, was starting to kick in. I ran straight from the testing center two miles to my work station to tell my flight chief I was ready to apply for classes. It was now January 2010, the fourth month of my deployment, and the day I had to secure approval from the two technical sergeants who are in-charge of me. The first asked why I wanted to start school. I replied, "Sir, I would like to be an officer and lead individuals. I would also like to have more options with my career." They then told me that many people want to be an officer, but not many wanted to do the school work. But one wished me luck before approving me for classes, and the second told me to never look back or take a break once I began. Those two technical sergeants had no clue that they had just made the biggest impact on this Airman's life of any supervisor I had ever had. The following week I started my first two classes. Little did I know what I was getting myself into or how much sleep I would lose during the final two months remaining on my deployment. In early April 2010, my deployment came to an end. I was reunited with my wife and two sons; my youngest just two days old when I deployed. The option of taking a break from school was upon me, and I made a decision that I regretted at the time but in hindsight realize was necessary. Since spring classes were starting within four days of my return to the United States, I held off on a vacation and went straight back to work. The very next week I started my duties as a Law Enforcement Patrolmen and discovered I was blessed with a flight chief who understood where I was headed and what I needed to accomplish to get there. This master sergeant assigned me to a post that could accommodate my countless hours of school work. Having a computer was instrumental in writing the long papers that would have otherwise been impossible to finish at 3 A.M. when I would get home. Even then I found myself rocking my son to sleep while trying to read a chapter or take a timed quiz. After three and a half long years, amidst deployments, long shifts, Panama schedule, and many wing and squadron exercises, as well as the many responsibilities required of a husband and now father of three, I have reached the large goal set years ago. Though I'm still considering which branch of service to be commissioned in, it is comforting to have two things that no one in this world can take away: an education and options. After receiving my CCAF and bachelor's degrees, my biggest dilemma is trying to pick among the billions of options my family has to choose from. I can honestly say that "With education, the sky is the limit."