Class of 2017

Charley Ren is living in the Financial District of New York City. He enjoys playing volleyball, listening to “lofi” beats, brewing coffee, and walking down Wall Street to the riverside.

Lota Ezenwa has been serving with the Marines for four years. He is currently training to fly jets. He spends his time training, working out, and keeping busy. He wanted to mention two other Dartmouth folks that he trained with: Raelin Perez ’15 and Albie Austin ’21.

After college Lota first worked in options trading and banking. He joined the military as a way to give back. He also reminisces upon high school football practices and watching F-16s fly from a base near his school in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

When describing the initial six months of training, Lota said he spent days in the woods and rain. This training helped him appreciate the small things in life.

Before flight school he stayed in Pensacola, Florida. While waiting for six months he gave classes to enlisted Marines on topics such as options trading and setting up a bank account. He also worked out.

For flight training, his first instructor was Capt. Zach Moscow ’14, whom he knew from rugby at Dartmouth. Lota first trained to fly Cessna jets. At the beginning he got acclimated to flying and learned loops, air-rolls, spins, landings, and formation flying. Next, he will learn to fly F-35 jets.

Lota reflected that there is nothing he would rather be doing. He no longer has the feeling of being lost. He noted that one can have anything one wants, but one cannot have everything one wants.

—Eric Chen, 24036 Wintergreen Circle, Novi, MI 48374; echen027@gmail.com