By Della Elliott
EL CAJON, California–Conscripted into the Israeli military at 18 and assigned to a unit specializing in clearing mine fields, Nir Shtern knows a thing a or two about performing under pressure.
Now a 22-year-old Grossmont College student, the San Diego resident remembers the practically overnight transition from carefree teen to combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, serving the country of his birth.
Shtern’s maturity and leadership skills led to a combat command position just one year into his three-year service. Barely a year older than the 18-year-old recruits, Shtern helped train his junior enlistees, molding them into battle-ready soldiers.
“The military was the first steppingstone that made me the responsible and determined individual I am today,” he wrote in an essay that garnered him the $1,500 Griffin Award of Excellence, the top Grossmont College scholarship for the spring 2013 semester. It is sponsored by the Foundation for Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges.
Those strengths have served the computer science major well as he has pursued the career and woman of his dreams. After immigrating to the U.S. in 2010, he worked in Colorado marketing Israeli products. He reconnected with a young American tourist he met back home. The woman – now his wife – was attending UC Berkeley, and he began making frequent trips to California.
These days, while his wife pursues a nursing degree in San Diego, Shtern is working on his associate degree. With a 4.0 grade-point average, he has his eyes set on transferring to UC San Diego or Berkeley, with plans to become a business consultant, and, eventually, to run a business of his own.
“Grossmont College offers a high level of science and math classes,” Shtern said. “The classes will prepare me well in my transition to a four-year University.”
He identifies math professor Steve Davis as a major influence.
“He is a dedicated professor who always puts forth that extra effort for students,” said Shtern, whose ability to absorb difficult concepts and to explain them clearly and concisely earned him a position as a tutor in the math study center.
In addition to tutoring math, Shtern is active in student government as the director of publicity for the Associated Students of Grossmont College. He is also a frequent volunteer for college events and initiatives, and serves as the student voice on several campus-wide committees.
“Grossmont is an institution that opens its gates for student involvement,” he said. “From my first semester here, I felt the encouragement to get involved, influence and better student life on campus.
It is the combination of both academics and the extracurricular that have made my experience here so great.”
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Elliott is a member of the public relations staff of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District