Ramon Montero graduated from high school in 2014 and started looking for answers.
“I wanted a change. I got out of high school, I was just working, I didn’t know what I wanted to do in school,” Montero said. “Someone told me about joining the army and I did. It was the best decision of my life.”
Montero served as a diesel mechanic in the U.S. Army for five years, repairing trucks, tanks, and other military vehicles.
“You can see a different world than you are used to. There are bigger and better things you can experience. When I joined the military, I found good people, mentorship, and became more responsible,” Montero said. “I was able to experience different things in life and grew as a person.”
Joining the U.S. Army wasn’t the first time Montero took a leap into a new life.
Montero and his family left the Dominican Republic for the United States when he was fourteen. This experience, he says, was difficult, as she learned a new language and adapted to a new way of life.
“It was very different, I was used to a lifestyle in the Dominican Republic, then when you come here it’s a bit slower,” Montero said.
Serving the country he now calls home, Montero said his experience in the military gave him a new direction and an idea of where his future might take him. After retiring, Montero moved to Florida and is now pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Forensics from Keizer New Port Richey University.
“I’m good at reading and solving stuff, figuring stuff out, so I was like, maybe I should be a detective or something. And then I found out about cybercrime and I thought, here it is. I can work on computers and at the same time investigate crimes.
Montero says that after graduating, he plans to continue living in Florida and hopes to start a new career solving white-collar and computer crimes.
“I need to be somebody, to accomplish something in life,” Montero said. “I will try to work hard for it.”
Keizer University is a private, independent, nonprofit university serving nearly 20,000 students at 21 Florida campuses, online, and at two international locations. Co-founded in 1977 by Chancellor Arthur Keizer, Ph.D., and Evelyn Keiser, Keizer University currently offers more than 100 degrees ranging from associate to doctoral level. Keiser University is a designated Hispanic-serving institution, a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and was ranked #5 in the United States in social mobility by US News and World Report in 2022.
