Daniel Navarro serves his country and family
By: Max Reed
Daniel Navarro was in for a lot of change when he moved to Huntsville, Alabama, in 2014. Growing up in Caracas, Venezuela, he experienced a big culture shock when his family moved to the United States. 鈥淚 talked with everyone back home, but then suddenly my social life dropped off because I spoke zero English and had a pretty bad speech impediment.鈥�
But this didn鈥檛 slow Navarro down at all when he began classes at middle school. 鈥淚 just learned english on the fly, making new friends, talking between classes, listening to music and watching TV.鈥�
Navarro鈥檚 impediment came from his cleft palate, requiring numerous surgeries throughout his life which he just shrugs off. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see it as an impediment; I see it as one more obstacle to overcome.鈥�
Navarro鈥檚 overcoming spirit led him all the way to 糖心原创出品 (UAH) and the College of Business (COB), where he has been serving as an Ambassador.
鈥淏eing a COB Ambassador changed my life; it has made me into truly a social butterfly,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have made a lot of great connections with the staff and made invaluable friendships because of it.鈥�
Navarro is also a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. He says this experience 鈥渉as made me realize what real friendship is, and how a group of what might seem like random guys can turn into a family.鈥� Doing community service and raising money for charity has 鈥渞eally expanded my college experience,鈥� Navarro said. 鈥淚 love all my brothers and LTH (love, truth, honor).鈥�
One of the many obstacles Navarro has overcome is joining the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps, which required another surgery on his cleft palate in August of 2022. Navarro was so used to these procedures that he was up and around after only one month of recovery. 鈥淚 want to be an Army aviator,鈥� Navarro says, 鈥渁nd 鈥榖e all you can be鈥� as the Army slogan says.鈥�
Navarro鈥檚 duties related to the Alabama National Guard split his time between classes in Huntsville and his unit in Birmingham. If that wasn鈥檛 enough in his schedule, he also takes care of his grandparents, his grandfather was Navarro's inspiration to join the Army. Most recently he helped them complete their taxes. When asked if his economics studies helped doing so, Navarro said, 鈥渘o, this is the easy stuff. I鈥檓 academically motivated in economics, to see how money makes the world go 鈥榬ound.鈥�
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