Center Grove Brothers Follow Distinct Paths to Military Success
A point of great pride — that’s what Lynn Dever, secretary to the associate superintendent of Center Grove Community School Corporation, says she feels when asked about her two sons who serve our country.
“Extremely proud,” Lynn says. “They’re both amazing kids, and they both just did what you told them to do, which was the perfect setting for the military. They both got great educations at Center Grove — obviously, that was enormous.”
The oldest of the brothers, John Dever, a 2014 graduate, remembers his time playing football for the Trojans with Coach Eric Moore, Coach Chad Daniels and Coach Nick Lyon, and how they made a profound impact during an influential point in his life.
“The mentorship and maturity of them setting their expectations and learning how to become a functioning adult and member of society,” John says. “Being a part of the football program definitely develops that maturity pretty early on, and that’s something that helps prepare you for life.”
For John, that journey after high school led to an exciting career in service to the country. He applied and was accepted into the Air Force Academy. After four years there, he graduated and moved to Del Rio, Texas, for pilot training. From there, he was assigned to the KC-135 Stratotanker.
His service has taken him around the world — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Germany, England, Japan, Hawaii, Alaska and Greenland. He has lived in Oklahoma, Washington and now New Jersey with his wife, Katie, and two dogs.
“There have been so many rewarding experiences and opportunities where you can kind of step back and look at the big-picture impact of the things you’re affecting and the operations you’re part of,” John says. “Seeing things in the news and saying, yeah, I was a part of that — it’s pretty rewarding.”
For his younger brother, Luke Dever, a 2017 graduate, the journey to serve looked different, as he made the choice to enlist at the start of his senior year at Center Grove.
“There was a delayed entry program that you can do, and I signed up for that going into my senior year of high school,” Luke says. “So my entire senior year of high school, I knew upon graduation, I was enlisted and planned to go into the Navy.”
He quickly started boot camp after receiving his diploma and traveled to Pensacola, Florida, for his apprentice school, where he learned to be an aircraft mechanic. He eventually checked into his first command, VFA-81 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He was there for three years and completed two deployments during that time.
During his second deployment, he learned about an opportunity to apply for the academies and, with his mom’s support, went through the extensive application process to join the Naval Academy.
“I’m a good example of, even if you don’t have your life figured out, graduating high school and enlisting gives your life somewhat of a direction and purpose,” Luke says. “There are a lot of different avenues if you have an interest.”
Now, Luke is back in Florida in flight school, learning to become a pilot — his dream career.
Lynn, as a proud military mom, is also excited to share newer opportunities for Center Grove students with interests in serving the country through the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC), housed inside the new Academic Pavilion at the high school. The program at Center Grove started last school year.
“We’ve got that avenue, which would prepare them to then either enlist or actually go into an ROTC program in college,” Lynn says. “So that’s absolutely amazing.”
Center Grove High School students may enroll in the U.S. Army JROTC program beginning in grades 9 through 12. The program is designed to instill the values of citizenship, service, personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment in young students. It’s not intended to recruit for military service but rather to prepare them to be responsible citizens in their communities and for future careers.
In its first year, the Center Grove JROTC program involved 32 students. This school year, it has grown to 91 students.
As Veterans Day approaches, Lynn is proud to share her family’s story and the unique career pathways her sons took into service.
“Everybody would always ask me, ‘Are you nervous?’” Lynn says. “They’re doing what they love, so I never worried about them. They’ve been in some pretty scary places, but they’re just doing what they want to do, and it’s amazing. I’m really proud of them.”
The JROTC program focuses on career development, cultivating leadership skills and building confidence through competitive opportunities, challenges and physical fitness. Cadets also gain the following benefits from participating in the program:
- Scholarship opportunities
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Career readiness
- Networking opportunities
- Résumé building
Learn more by visiting centergrove.k12.in.us/JROTC.
