MICHAEL HOUGHTLING WILL ATTEND EMBRY-RIDDLE.
“I knew at a young age what my real calling was—to be in the United States Military,” said Michael Houghtling. “I had a role model that I looked up to and wanted to follow. That was my father. My father served in United States Army for three years, and I thought that was the coolest thing in the world. I wanted to be just like him.”
Houghtling grew up in Connecticut. He was not a kid who gravitated toward school and academics. “My parents wanted the best for me, and they set me up for success. They sent me to a private Catholic school to have me obtain a higher level of education, and strict discipline. So when I was not at home learning discipline, I was learning it at school.” Houghtling credits this school with instilling in him the values of hard work, determination, and grit. The school, “….was not easy, but it taught me to push through and get my work done. I am now better because of it,” Houghtling commented. “My faith, which was reinforced by school, taught me to prevail in difficult times. That is because I know that I have God by my side.”
In 2019, the family moved to Plant City to care for his grandparents. The transition left Houghtling without the disciplined Catholic school environment he knew was good for him. So, at Plant City High School he sought out discipline and found it in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). “It was there that I realized what exactly I wanted to do and how to get there,” Houghtling commented. “Trust me, I did not want to go to college. But after learning it was essential to being a pilot in the United States Marines, I quickly reassessed my plan, and focused on going to school. I learned about the Senior ROTC program that offered a full ride scholarship. I then found out about Embry-Riddle being one of the leading schools in the nation for engineering and aeronautics. So, that is what I set my mind on.”
Houghtling did achieve a $180,000 Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship. He recently completed New Student Indoctrination (NSI) at the Naval Station Great Lakes. He will begin classes at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach in the fall, majoring in Aerospace Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.
“I have a long and difficult journey ahead of me, with four years of college, and military training in the summer,” Houghtling said. “After that I must attend Officer Candidate School (OCS), a 6-week program of intense physical training and mental challenges. Following that, I have a six-month program known as The Basic School (TBS), where future officers undergo countless runs, hikes, and learn how to lead in the United States Marine Corps.”
