When Teddy DeSouza joined the military 25 years ago, he was seeking independence.
But enlisting in the Army got the 18-year-old more than a ticket out of his parents’ home in Brooklyn, New York.
A chance encounter with an Army recruiter took DeSouza around the country and across the globe, pushing him beyond his own expectations and exposing him to foreign ways of life that humbled him.
Though the 43-year-old DeSouza has retired, he continues to fight for future of this country — in the classroom alongside retired Army Major Steven Spiece.
Referred to as Sgt. D on the Cholla High Magnet School campus, DeSouza works to make his JROTC students better citizens and to build their confidence and leaderships skills. He also seeks to teach students in the program focused on college and career readiness about goal-setting, teamwork and financial management. Those are skills DeSouza says he learned from the Army.
DeSouza’s journey to the classroom started outside of a Wendy’s fast food restaurant where his childhood friend stood talking with a man in a uniform.
“Shorty,” as he was referred to in the neighborhood, told DeSouza he was getting out of New York and the man in the uniform — an Army recruiter — was his way out.
Promised a life of travel, an opportunity to have college paid for and to make his own money, DeSouza soon found himself in basic training in Oklahoma without “Shorty,” who backed out at the last minute.
Though DeSouza said he wasn’t ready to be out in the cold, running in formation for miles, he was prepared for one thing — drill sergeants.
“My mother did not play,” DeSouza said of Linda Bowen. “She was real strict and traditional. Her being that hard on me helped because when the drill sergeant would yell it didn’t bother me — my mother was on my butt for 18 years. I was like, ‘I’m cool, my mother’s been my drill sergeant.’”
DeSouza spent the next 20 years stationed in Washington, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and in Germany where he met his wife of 18 years, Nicole.
It also took him to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the mid-90s on a peacekeeping mission as part of Operation Joint Endeavor where he patrolled for intruders.
“The living conditions in some of those towns were sad and deplorable — children on the side of the road; lack of hot and cold running water, potable water and food,” DeSouza said. “Not one round was fired but it made me appreciate all the things we have in this country that we take for granted.”
In the end, the Army made good on the recruiter’s promises and before retiring in 2011, DeSouza served in that same capacity.
Asked whether working with high schooler students is harder than serving in the military, DeSouza chuckles.
“They both have their own unique challenges,” he says. “I love working with high school students. I love being part of their lives, helping them out, talking to them. It’s a blessing but it’s not for everybody.”
DeSouza’s technique is working, Major Spiece says: “He connects with the kids really well. The students are attracted to him because he’s passionate about the job.”
