If you want a different life, start at Boise State

Davena Hoskins, veteran, U.S. Air Force

At 24, Davena Hoskins already has a six-year military career behind her with five years in the U.S. Air Force and one year in the Idaho National Guard. She’s also making her name as a writer. She and her older brother Jason, who recently ended his time in the Air Force as a senior airman, have co-written nine books, a mix of military science fiction, fantasy, horror, and romance under the shared pen name, D.J. Hoskins. The siblings are currently working on their tenth book, a collection of short stories.

A junior majoring in creative writing, Hoskins grew up in New Mexico, Virginia, and Oregon, a kid devoted to gymnastics and anime. After high school, she debated between going to college, taking a gap year, and joining the military.

“I wanted to jump out of the nest, be independent, and write freely,” Hoskins said. “I chose the military so I could support myself.”

She enlisted in the Air Force when she was 17. She served on bases in South Carolina, Turkey, and Germany as a supply chain specialist. She came to Idaho because her brother was stationed at the Air Force base in Mountain Home, Idaho.

“A lot of my self-identity and the way that I saw myself in relation to the world stemmed from my military rank,” Hoskins said. “I couldn’t relate to a lot of other students at first. I had to forge a new understanding of myself.”

The Veteran Services Center became a place to vent, to share “sea stories” – the catchall phrase for stories about military service – and a sanctuary for Hoskins. She works at the center as an English tutor and relishes being a student herself. Her writing classes, she said, have exposed her to literary fiction and the “new vocabulary” of literary criticism. In turn, she said, she and her fellow veterans have contributed to classroom discussions by sharing their experiences – so different from those of most students.

Soon, Hoskins will have even more support at Boise State. Her brother Jason has enrolled as a full-time student.

Jesus Cervantes, veteran, U.S. Marine Corps

Jesus Cervantes joined the U.S. Marine Corps a few years after high school. It wasn’t the uniform that drew him to enlist, he said. It wasn’t the commercials, it wasn’t the recruiters.

“Being a kid raised in Chicago on the poor side, I enjoyed the endurance, the toughness level,” he said.

Cervantes’ family moved from Iguala in the Mexican state of Guerrero to Chicago when Cervantes was a baby. He grew up loving sports, especially the Chicago Cubs. He played basketball and baseball in high school. Cervantes spent eight years in the Marines and earned the rank of sergeant. He was a driver, transporting equipment and personnel. He loaded ships and spent time in Australia doing simulated combat training with the Australian military. He also served in Iraq.

“I was a Swiss Army knife guy, doing lots of different jobs,” he said.

He was still in the Marines when he watched a Boise State football game on television.

“ESPN did a special halftime show about the city. That’s what attracted me. Boise was completely different from Chicago,” he said.

Cervantes wanted a change, so in 2016 – the year his Cubs won the World Series – he enrolled at Boise State. A first-generation college student, he’s loved computers since he was a kid, but put those interests on hold during the military. Being back in school, he said, was like revisiting his childhood. He admitted that at times, he wanted to quit. He called upon the discipline he learned in the military.

“I told myself, ‘Nope, I have to finish this,’” Cervantes said.

He did, receiving his degree in information technology management in 2022.

Cervantes lives with his partner, Carmina Fernandez, who works in health care. They share three pets – Meeko, a sleek black dog, and two cats, Valor and Chewbacca. Since moving to Boise, Fernandez said, the two have begun creating new traditions, including patronizing a favorite Christmas tree lot each winter and bringing hot chocolate to the workers. “They know us,” Cervantes said. Photos by Patrick Sweeney

Jorge Hernandez, veteran, U.S. Marine Corps

Marine veteran Jorge Hernandez graduated in 2020 with a degree in business administration. He works at the Veteran Services Center as an education specialist.

“I’m trying to return a favor,” Hernandez said. “A lot of people here were the reason I was able to finish school.”

Hernandez and his sister left El Salvador for California when Hernandez was a teenager.

“In my senior year of high school, 9-11 happened,” he said. “I joined the Marine Corps the day after.”

Hernandez was “boots on the ground” by 2003. He served for more than 11 years, earning the rank of sergeant. He was wounded twice in combat.

“For a lot of people, coming from the war, it’s hard to get past the events that happened there,” he said.

He advises fellow veterans to remember Boise State offers them a support system.

“Don’t try to go to school alone. I was once one of those vets who sat in the back of the classroom and didn’t speak. I want other veterans to know that we have an open-door policy, even if you just need an ear to listen.”

Hernandez and his fiancée Candice Reid are parents to three daughters, Melanie, 16, Shyanne, 13, and Cadence, 5. On what would have been his graduation day had the pandemic not caused the ceremony’s cancellation, he and his family visited the iconic Boise State “B” to take photos. Hernandez chose this moment to propose to Reid.

“I wanted to do it then, ” Hernandez said. “It meant so much to me, a kid from El Salvador. I didn’t think I would ever graduate from a four-year university in the United States. Now I get to help other first-generation and non-traditional students finish their degrees.”