Patrick Witt English 1101 Patricks Literacy Memoir Throughout my life, there have been countless literacy sponsors

and events. Out of all the events and sponsors, two have had the greatest impact on my life. My time spent in construction, and the United States Marine Corps are the two most powerful events in my life thus far. Without any one of these two events, I would not be the person that I am today. For my first job, I helped my father with his construction company. When I first started I knew nothing about construction, however, as the years went by I became more and more proficient at my job. I started working the occasional weekend to help my father survey the jobsites he had throughout the area. I learned how to shoot points, and how to use them. At first I learned a basic understanding of how to read blueprints. As I aged, I was allowed to take on other challenges, and learned more about construction. I would watch what the other men on the construction crew, and pick up techniques from them. I talked to my coworkers, always asking questions about how things were done, or what different ways there were to finish projects. With their help, I quickly became literate in things such as surveying, concrete work, and equipment operation. When we would start a job, my father would always start by surveying the area. We would figure out where the high and low spots were on the site. When I first started working, I was tasked with holding the grading rod, going from point to point, while my father recorded the different measurements. After I grew older, and learned more about
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my job, I was allowed to shoot points rather than hold the rod. I became literate in basic surveying, seeing where to read the grading rod, and figuring out how our readings translated to the same points on the blueprints. After we would survey the site, we would move to the rest of the job. This would include grading the jobsite for the rest of construction, followed by the pouring of concrete. Once we knew the elevation of the site, we knew where we needed to add dirt, and where we needed to remove dirt. From there, we would start to grade the site. This required the use of heavy equipment such as dozers, backhoes, track hoes, and rollers. At first, I was not allowed to operate any equipment. But, as I grew older, I was allowed to operate the rollers on certain sites. I was started on the rollers, because they were the simplest pieces of equipment to operate. As I got better with the basics, I was allowed to move up to more complicated equipment. Soon I was able to operate any and all pieces of equipment that we would need for that day. I could use the equipment needed to move the dirt to where it was needed. After we had set the groundwork for the site, the rest of the job could be done. Once we established the correct grade, we could move on to the next step, pouring the concrete. With concrete, I learned how to set up the forms, grade the ground, and how to pour and finish the concrete. At first I found a lot of difficulty in performing these tasks. The forms never fit correctly, I left areas ungraded, or I let the concrete get away from me when we were pouring. Letting the concrete get away is never good. It happens when the concrete sets, or dries, faster than it can be finished. However, after some time, I became more and more literate. I fit the forms together, either by fixing the forms, or by smashing them together with a sledge hammer. I could
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grade the dirt to the level we needed, and I could pour and finish the concrete as well as, if not better than those around me. Each one of these aspects not only taught me how to handle the specific tasks, they also showed me how to approach any problem. They showed me how to prioritize my task list, how to formulate a solution to a challenge, and how to interact with other workers, and other companies. My time as a construction worker helped to prepare me for the next major chapter in my life, my time in the USMC. I joined the United States Marine Corps when I was twenty. Before I joined I was working as a pizza delivery driver for Papa Johns Pizza. The recruiter asked if I would like to talk about how the Marine Corps could change my life. I agreed and a few months later, I found myself on Parris Island. I became literate in basic Marine Corps knowledge, and skills. I learned how to use a map and compass during the day, as well as the night. I learned how to shoot, and how to maintain my rifle. After boot camp, I was sent to MCT, Marine Combat Training, to learn more about tactics, and different weapons that we may need while in a war zone environment. Once we mastered a basic understanding of these tactics and weapons, we were sent to our individual MOS, Military Occupation Specialty, schools. There I learned little about my job, due to an ineffective teaching method. We were given no real instruction on what our job was, nor were we shown any examples of what it would look like. Our instructors simply showed us what we needed for the tests, and then left us to our own devices. Most of the information I received for my job, I received once I located to my permanent duty station.

My orders sent me to Camp Pendleton CA, to work with the Helicopter Squadron HMLA-369. There My NCOs, NonCommissioned Officers taught me everything that I needed to know about my job. At first they showed me the basics, and as I mastered that, they moved on to more advanced aspects of my job. The level of training I

received from my NCOs was far better than I could have expected. Soon, I was able to handle any problem that came up. Though I had great NCOs in the beginning, I soon learned that the same did not apply to my SNCOs, or Staff NonCommissioned Officers. Their leadership approach mirrored the same ideals that my MOS instructors had. They left the shop to its own devices, and only showed up for inspections. I soon learned that while I could rely on my NCOs to teach me, and to help out when the work started to pile up, I could not count on my SNCOs. Rather than complain, I learned how to learn from their poor example. I saw how they approached problems, and learned what not to do in any situation. Aside from my actual job, my SNOCs and NCOs both showed me how to handle other Marines, and how to take care of their problems. While I knew how to fix the problems that these Marines had, what I did not know, was how to articulate my point, and my plan of attack in an effective manner. My NCOs taught me how to do both. They showed me through their own example, and also, through one on one instruction. I found these lessons to be the most valuable. Though there are more events in my life that have had some effect on me, the time I spent working construction and serving in the Marine Corps are the two most influential times in my life. They taught me how to handle any problems that may show up, either from other people, or from any task that I may have to complete. Without these two events, I would not be the man that I am today.
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