GoArmy.com > For Parents > SPC Antoine Grimes

veryone who serves in the Army Reserve really has two sides to his life. There is the civilian side, which involves going to school—as Scott does—or continuing with a regular full-time job. Then there is the Soldier side. That's when you report to your Army Reserve Center and perform your duties as a Reserve Soldier, in particular, the specialized Army Reserve job you've learned. Finding a way to manage your time to handle both can be a real challenge. But Scott has risen to that challenge. In fact, he really enjoys it.

"Instructing other Soldiers and then going to school and being instructed—it's really exciting. You can apply things you learn in school, and you can test them out here. It's a great opportunity to test your leadership skills."

Photo of SPC Peterson as a Soldier and student

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Not only has managing the two parts of his life helped make Scott a better Soldier, but in many ways, it has made him feel like a better person. A good part of that comes from the positive feelings he gets from others who recognize the value of his commitment. "Most of the people I have class with, most people I run into in school or anywhere else are really supportive."

His mother has also noticed a difference in the way he is perceived by others. "As a Soldier, he just stands out above the rest. He can walk on campus as a Soldier and hold his head high."

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Photo of SPC Peterson

Lisa: One of the special aspects that the Army Reserve has to offer Scott is the duality of being an Army Reserve Soldier as well as a student.

Scott: For part of the month, I'm civilian; most of the month, I'm civilian; and most of the year, I'm civilian. And then I put on my uniform and am a Soldier, and take on all the duty and responsibility that that entails. Instructing other Soldiers and then going home and going to school, and being instructed, it's really exciting, you know, you can apply things you learned in school, and you can test them out here. It's a great opportunity to kinda test your leadership abilities and skills. My military occupational specialty, my MOS, is 21 Echo, which is a heavy construction equipment operator. What we do is we build roads, and that's very important to the Army's mission. We really need clear lanes of movement.

Lisa: I think as a Soldier he just stands out above the rest. He can walk on campus as a Soldier and hold his head high. With the Army Reserve, he has made friends, and they do things socially as well as at work, and then at school he has met friends.

Scott: Most of the people I have class with, most of the people I run into at school or anywhere else, are really supportive. You know, I've found out now that there is definitely a balance between the two.

Lisa: The strength that I observe in him, it's very different. It's a leadership quality. You know, the sky's the limit with him in the Army. He likes to make an impact.