Duquesne Friendship Inspires Public Health Major to Join ROTC

Shortly after arriving to Duquesne as a first-year student, Elizabeth remembers being asked to sign a poster for someone living on the floor above her in Assumption Hall who was returning from Army basic training. That someone was Zach Marini.

“I vividly remember thinking to myself, “Good on him for doing that because I could simply never be in the military,” she said. “Flash forward a month or two, I ran into him, and we became friendly due to our similar classes. He was a Health Sciences major and I was Public Health.”

As their friendship developed, Elizabeth became more intrigued with Zach’s military experience, so he suggested she join ROTC at Duquesne.

“Initially, I was not interested because I didn’t know what it would entail, but my curiosity grew the more I learned about it,” explained Elizabeth. “I remember asking him about basic training, thinking to myself how challenging it must have been."

Three years later, family and friends watched with pride as Elizabeth and Zach were among the honored cadets at the 2024 ROTC Commissioning Ceremony held in Duquesne’s Union Ballroom.

Elizabeth found Duquesne’s Director of the Office for Military and Veteran Students Christopher Boissonnault, or “Mr. B” as she calls him, to be an important connection on campus.

“He helped us reserve spaces on campus for various events and was able to get us funding so we could do fun things like have pizza with the Duquesne University police officers and a reception following our commission ceremony," she said.

A native of Tallahassee, Florida, Elizabeth discovered Duquesne during one of her trips up north visiting a friend in Pittsburgh.  

“I fell in love with Pittsburgh and Duquesne’s beautiful campus,” remarked Elizabeth, who said she was then further impressed with the University due to its small class sizes, hands-on learning and closeknit feel.

After enrolling at Duquesne, Elizabeth became quite active on campus. In addition to joining ROTC, she was president of the Honors College Society for Engagement Excellence and served in the role of treasurer for both Best Buddies International and the Public Health Action and Outreach Association.

A senior year capstone experience led to Elizabeth being offered her current position as a key account representative for the Pittsburgh-based company, Surgical Product Solutions.

“My Duquesne education equipped me with not only the academic skills to succeed in the workplace, but quite literally, my job,” she said.

Elizabeth now encourages others to consider joining the military—something she would not have predicted doing four years ago.

She added: “That’s why I now firmly believe you should never say never. You might just surprise yourself.”