The road to college graduation has literally been fraught with war for Ahmed Dorghoud. Now, as a Marine Reservist during a lull in troop deployment, Dorghoud鈥檚 ready for spring鈥檚 Commencement.
When senior criminal justice student and Monks lacrosse聽 player Ahmed Dorghoud moved with his family from Cairo, Egypt, to Alexandria, Virginia, in 1999, ROTC instantly became a part of his high-school career. And just two weeks after graduation, 鈥淚 was at boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina,鈥� Dorghoud says. There he was, Private First Class Dorghoud, a U.S. Marine Reservist.聽 It was 2005.
As a Marine, Dorghoud鈥檚 skills would be called upon for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unfortunately, these deployments came at a time when he was also trying his hand as a college student.
鈥淚 actually went to school a couple times before Saint Joseph鈥檚,鈥� Dorghoud says. 鈥淚 went to school in West Virginia for one semester, and then I got the call to go to Iraq. The second time I went to college was in Virginia for a year, and before the year ended I got the call to go to Afghanistan.鈥澛� In all, he spent nearly a year on the ground in the Middle East.
In the midst of the other colleges and active deployments, Dorghoud slowly but surely came to know of Saint Joseph鈥檚 College. 鈥淲hen I came back from Iraq in 2007, I coached lacrosse where I went to high school,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I met [former lacrosse coach] Mike Edgar. We stayed friends and in contact. He was on me every year to come up to play for Saint Joseph鈥檚.
鈥淲hen I came back from Afghanistan, he called me up and said 鈥榃elcome back,鈥� and asked that I play lacrosse for him. I filled out the paperwork, and I started here in the spring of 2011.鈥�
How did it feel to now be in Maine, far from combat and the Mid-Atlantic states? 鈥淚t was聽 different,鈥� Dorghoud says. 鈥淓specially with my background, what I鈥檝e been through, even living in聽 the hustle and bustle of northern Virginia. In聽 Maine everything is so quiet. It was different, and it鈥檚 still different.鈥�
Fortunately, Saint Joseph鈥檚 is a good home for someone with a background like Dorghoud. 鈥淚 met John Quinn 鈥�12. He was former Army. We met in a criminal justice class and clicked right away. He鈥檇 been through a lot of the same experiences I had.鈥�
Dorghoud also serves as a source of information for current students interested in enlisting. 鈥淭hey come up saying they have ideas for this or that.聽 I try to guide them, push them鈥o go be an聽 officer. I tell it as it is. I tell them the truth.鈥�
Before coming to Saint Joseph鈥檚 as a lacrosse student-athlete, Ahmed Dorghoud spent nearly a year between deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Now a sergeant in the Marine Reserves,聽 Dorghoud understands the truth of being a聽 student and a reservist. 鈥淭hey are able to call me and say 鈥榊ou gotta go.鈥� There鈥檚 always that聽 possibility. Especially with the infantry unit, there鈥檚 always the possibility of deploying. I came back from Afghanistan almost four years ago, and you train every day like you鈥檙e leaving tomorrow.鈥�
When he鈥檚 in class, Dorghoud is always聽 balancing that notion 鈥� of being a student聽 today and being on active deployment tomorrow. 鈥淭here鈥檚 school, papers, lacrosse, the workouts and the military stuff. I go to training one聽 weekend every month in Maryland, but there鈥檚 also paperwork, and I have to call a lot of people all the time. You just have to balance it out.鈥�
And then there are the memories: 鈥淪ometimes聽 I think about my deployments. It鈥檚 part of you,聽 especially when you鈥檝e done the dirty work, walking around, talking to people, getting into firefights.鈥�
Luckily, that balancing of responsibilities and聽 experiences runs deeps in Dorghoud鈥檚聽 academics. 鈥淚 like how my professors all have experience in the criminal justice field,鈥� he says. 鈥淟ike Linda Barker, she鈥檚 a police officer in South Portland. She brings real-life experience into the classroom. And Dale Brooker was a member of聽 the Public Safety Committee in the city of聽 Westbrook. He鈥檚 involved in the field.鈥�
When Dorghoud graduates this spring, he has a bright future ahead. Now eight and a half years as a Marine Reservist and a soon-to-be聽 college graduate, he wants 鈥渢o work in law聽 enforcement, hopefully in the Virginia or D.C. area.鈥� Service, it appears, will always be at the core of Ahmed Dorghoud.
