How Military Service Impacts Weedsport Students and Staff

Ava Blaisdell, Staff Writer|March 20, 2023

Mrs. Weston and her son Ted at his recent graduation.

It seems like everyday there’s a National day in this country from “Peanut Butter Day” to “Billy Day” but there are also more serious days that take place like “Armed Forces Day.” 

Armed Forces Day took place on February 11th.  To honor the day, The Johnny Green talked to ELA teacher Mrs. Weston, and 10th grade student Ayla Stark to discuss the military service of their family members.

Stark’s father is in the Army and has been since before she was born. From her perspective it is definitely hard on everyone when he’s gone, but Ayla also says it’s pretty cool because she knows if he could choose to be home he would. Before Mr. Stark was in the army; he was also a police officer.

“On Christmas we had to wake up at 4 am to open presents because he had to go to Buffalo to help the people that were trapped in their cars.” He gets moved around, in fact her brother, senior A.J. Stark was born in Afghanistan. And when Ayla was in 6th Grade he had to go to Ukraine to train soldiers. He got a promotion that almost moved them to Buffalo when he came back from Ukraine, but he didn’t want them to move around a lot because he had moved around a lot growing up in a military family. 

 

Mrs. Weston’s son Teddy Weston is also in service. We discussed how it is as a child with a parent in the Army, but it is also interesting to see what it is like to be a parent with a child in the service. Mrs. Weston said it was always something he knew he wanted to do, he wasn’t interested in college and he doesn’t have a specific career plan.

At first it was a hard decision for her to support thinking of all the things that could happen. But once she realized he was serious about this she knew it was what he wanted and she would support it. “He likes the challenge of it all.”

He really wants to be deployed to be able to do what they’re trained to do. This experience in her and her husband’s perspective has just been a lot of unanswered questions, there are no set plans, things can change at any minute.

“He’s always wanted to serve his country, and he thinks it’s an exciting way to see the world.”