What’s up? My name is Carlos M. Quintero, I am proud to be born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was privileged that my parents decided to move to the United States when I was 11 years old and now I live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In high school, I got involved in clubs and extracurricular activities in order to be a more competitive university/academy candidate. I ran cross country a long with both indoor and outdoor track. In the community, I was involved in Boy Scouts and Civil Air Patrol.

When it was time to make a decision about what college to attend, I knew three things. I wanted to go to the best school I could get into, I couldn’t pay for school, and I wanted to be in the military. I had the choice between Army ROTC at a civilian school or the Academy. It was one of the hardest decisions I made in my life, but I chose CGA because I knew it would set me up for more success in the future.

I didn’t get a direct appointment, but instead I had the choice to do the CGA Scholars Program (CGAS). I was skeptical of the idea at first, because I didn’t want to loose a year at Prep School, but it was a great idea. New Mexico Military Institute allowed me to work on my weaknesses when it came to time management and academics. On the contrary it was a blessing to have Prep School to improve myself, which set me up for success at the Academy.

I have always enjoyed socializing, which doesn’t happen at the Academy due to the hard workload. My all time favorite is to be home with my friends and family to spend time with them. I only get a chance for that about once a month, but you realize how good of an experience this is that you are willing to put that entirely aside.