By: Cassidy Delamarter, USF College of Education
Four days after graduating high school, Amed Issa left home to become a U.S. Marine.
“I wanted a challenge for myself—and I wanted a family,” he said.
For Issa, a soon-to-be University of South Florida College of Education Exercise Science graduate, life at home was unpredictable and filled with challenges. His father was absent and his mother struggled with addiction. By his senior year of high school, he was experiencing homelessness and moving between his friends’ couches.
"The professors at USF have not only inspired me to pursue my dreams, but also gave me the confidence that I can do anything in life." — Issa
Still, he pushed forward. He graduated in 2017 with multiple college acceptances, including a full ride to a university near him in Ohio, but decided to serve his country first.
Just days after graduating, he arrived at boot camp in South Carolina. His first assignments were in Georgia and eventually Hawaii, where he completed two six-month deployments in the Indo-Pacific region.
While in Hawaii, Issa received a Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the highest award for heroism in a non-combat zone, when he applied lifesaving aid to a shooting victim at a restaurant.
“This event is what inspired me to pursue the medical field, starting with an undergraduate in exercise science,” Issa said. “That’s what led me to USF.”
In 2022, he was selected for the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program (MECEP), which allows active-duty Marines to earn a bachelor’s degree and become commissioned officers.
He was accepted into multiple schools, but ultimately, he said something about USF stood out. “I loved that USF had people from so many different backgrounds.”
And after years stationed near the ocean, location didn’t hurt either.
He was interested in pursuing a degree in exercise science, an intentional decision shaped by his future in the Marines.
“I knew I would be going back into the Marine Corps,” he says. “I want to make sure that in deployments and combat zones, I’m keeping Marines healthy, mentally and physically. I knew this program would make me a better leader.”
What surprised him most wasn’t just what he learned, but how he learned it.
“I thought college would be massive classes where you don’t really know anyone,” he said. “But here in this program, the professors know you by name. They’re humble. They want to learn from you, too.”
Soon after graduating, he will return to the Marine Corps to serve at least four more years. He hopes to return to USF for medical school later.
“This is the first time in my life I’ve really had structure and support,” Issa said. “As long as I’m physically able, I want to keep serving to make sure Marines come home."
