Since she was a young woman, Sydney Bishop has wanted to be in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Recruited to play softball at University of Texas Permian Basin, Bishop arrived in Odessa in 2020. She plays catcher on the team.
She contacted the Marine Corps office in Lubbock, as well as her Officer Selection Officer in San Jose, Calif.
They were the ones that got her into the Officer Candidate School. Bishop is in the Platoon Leaders Course. She went to the junior increment last summer and will to the senior increment this summer.
She is due to graduate from UTPB in the spring with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and a minor in Spanish.
Then she plans to return to pursue a master’s in criminal justice administration.
Once she finishes officer candidate school in Virginia and be commissioned. She’ll then go to the Basic School, or TBS, in Quantico, Va.
“That’ll be a six-month school, but that’s after graduation, and then I will come back here for a fourth year to finish up playing softball and do a master’s degree,” Bishop said.
The training is a combination of academic, physical fitness and leadership tests.
After a career in the Marines, Bishop hopes to pursue law enforcement. In the Marines, she is interested in intelligence and communications.
“But at the end of the day … you’re to be placed where you’re where you can provide the most benefit,” Bishop said.
She said she has grown up wanting to join the military.
“It’s … the environment that I want to be in. I’ve always wanted to challenge myself and do that and then also serve my country. … My stepbrother was a major influence in my decision to pursue the Marines. He’s Marine. He served six years (in the) Marine Corps. … We just have a special bond and he’s someone I look up to,” Bishop said.
Bishop, 20, grew up in Millington, Mich.
She started at Oakland University in Michigan and then transferred to UTPB in the second semester of her freshman year in 2020.
“I was recruited to play softball here and that’s how … I found out about this school in particular,” she said.
Shortly after she got to UTPB, COVID hit and she went back to Michigan and started the process of going into the Marines.
“I’ve always had the desire to pursue this,” she said. “… I found out that about the officer program, so I wanted to play softball in college …”
Going into the military from high school wasn’t something she wanted, but then she found out that there was an option to pursue the Marine Corps through the officer training program.
“You normally do it as a junior (or) senior in college. So that’s when I found out about that opportunity,” Bishop said.
She added that she figured it was time to get the ball rolling because it was something she wanted for her future.
Bishop said the Marines’ standard is something she aspires to.
“… I just really admire everything Marine Corps represents,” she added.
Experiencing the Marine Corps has reaffirmed her decision to join.
“… It was challenging, but it was definitely something that I want to do,” Bishop said.
Softball coach Tiala Tagaloa said Bishop is the kind of player you want on your team and the training Bishop received from the Marines has helped her improve in leadership.
“… She covers everything you want … as a player, as a teammate, as a person. She’s just an outstanding individual all around,” Tagaloa said.
“I think she’s talented, she’s athletic. She’s a catcher. The biggest thing you want in that position is someone who can take charge and lead the field. I think she does that seamlessly,” she added.
Tagaloa said you never have to worry about Bishop doing the right thing as she holds herself to a high standard.
Tagaloa said Bishop’s time in training has given her more confidence and she is more self-assured.
“She’s always had the skill set, always had it within her. I think just her going through what she went through this summer brought that out even further. She’s definitely a leader in every capacity,” Tagaloa said.
