Centrepiece Online | Spring 2011

Unexpected Consequences

An alum makes choices for all the wrong reasons, but finds they work out anyway by Newman McKay ’09

Newman McKay ’09 on a security mission near COB Adder, in Iraq

I never thought I would end up at Centre.

Growing up, I was quite sure that I would go to the University of Southern California to play football before a long and successful career as both an NFL and MLB star. As I reached my athletic peak, around the age of 15, and it became clear to me that I was not going to reach 6′5″, I started to explore other options.

My father is a Centre grad (Rick McKay ’74) and a Deke to boot. He always talked about Centre with a hint of nostalgia in a way that conveyed a true appreciation for his time there. In my never-ending quest to subvert my father’s will, however, I vowed that I would not go to Centre.

I applied to Centre, along with three other schools, but didn’t have it at the top of my list. I actually enrolled at Centre to spite another college. The other school (I’ll call it “Unnamed College in Virginia with Similar Attributes to Centre”) placed me on the wait list. Since I had never been picked last even for playground kickball, much less been put on a waiting list, I knew something had to be done to battle such injustice. So when I saw that Centre played the other college in football, I figured I would embarrass them on the field, causing them to repent for the unforgivable sin of not admitting me.

While we did beat them my freshman year, an incurable knee injury spelled the end of my season and ultimately my collegiate football career. I went on to have an amazing experience at Centre. Whether my being there was destiny or a fluke, I’ll never know, but I would not change it either way.

I didn’t approach my college search with an open mind. I was afraid of going to Centre because my dad went there and it was close to home. I should have been basing my college decision on whether or not a school would afford me opportunities to grow, personally and academically. Centre did do that for me, but I spent my first semester there telling myself I was unhappy. Instead of four great years at Centre, I limited myself to three and a half.

I also never thought I’d go to Iraq. I had entertained the idea of going to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, secretly knowing I’d never actually make it there. When the ROTC recruiter at the University of Kentucky called and asked me if I was still interested in a scholarship, after I thought I’d been disqualified by my knee problems, I signed the paperwork without much reflection. I thought to myself, “Hey, this is a good deal, right? They pay for college, and all I have to do is work there for my first four years out. It’s not like you can find a great job fresh out of college anyway.”

I was sure that my knee problems would restrict me to a routine desk job, or at least to a job that would allow me to spend my whole career stateside.

And here I am: deployed to a small town in southern Iraq. I live in what could more or less be considered a dorm, eat at a dining hall, and have to walk about 50 yards to get to the bathroom. Sounds like college, right? It is a very similar living situation, but the social life is pretty bland.

Because of all the time I spent training immediately after I graduated, I only had about two months on the job as a platoon leader before we left in May. Training soldiers for a deployment is not easy, and it’s even tougher when you are trying to learn their names at the same time. We made it here, though. As of now I’m slated to head home in April.

Complaining is not an option. I am in Iraq for six months or so, and it’s up to me to take advantage of opportunities and learn. There is an opportunity behind every door, even if you don’t see it at first. You can always learn, always make yourself better. Centre and the Army gave me a chance to challenge myself and to become a better person from the experience. I encourage all the recent Centre graduates to see an opportunity in a less than appealing economy. Take a chance, do something different, seek out opportunities, and you may just find that you are much better for it. I believe that I am.

Newman McKay ’09 graduated with a degree in economics and is now a 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He is deployed to Iraq until April.

—D.F.J.