G-Prep senior plans on military

Every high school teacher or adviser looks for them. The students who can be counted on. The ones who will show up when they say they will, who will complete promised tasks on time and then offer to do even more.

Gonzaga Prep senior Brian Entzminger is one such student.

Says Peggy Haun-McEwen, counselor and senior class adviser: “Brian is a young man with integrity. He’s looked up to as a role model by the underclassmen.”

Entzminger wasn’t that eager to attend G-Prep. “I didn’t want to go at first because of the ‘preppy’ reputation,” he said.

But he found the school to be more than he had expected in many ways.

“There are great student-teacher relationships at the school,” he said. “They’re not all uptight.”

Entzminger has served as a senior class officer, played lacrosse and helped plan student retreats.

Haun-McEwen says Entzminger is “very focused on the here and now but has great vision for the future.”

The Eagle Scout recently received a full-ride NROTC academic scholarship and will be attending the University of San Diego this fall.

“I’ve always kind of wanted to go down the military path,” he said. The 18-year-old plans to be a business major and says he would love to fly helicopters.

“Right now, I’m planning to spend 20 years in the Marines and retire when I’m 38. And I’d really like to have my own business at some point,” he said.

Entzminger concedes that with the current military climate, his friends and family are a bit worried, but, he says, they’re supportive of his decision.

Entzminger says the key to a successful high school experience lies in being true to yourself. “Don’t be fake,” he said. “Form your own opinions.”

That kind of positive outlook has earned him the respect of his peers as well as faculty members.

As Haun-McEwen says, “He’s one of the students you can count on.”