KILLEEN, Texas — A Texas A&M University-Central Texas ROTC cadet has a devotion to military service with an attitude full of resilience and perseverance.
29-year-old Mamoud Kamara was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa.
"The name of the community is Longi-Town," Kamara said.
In the 90's, Kamara says the town was tiny, filled with just a thousand people.
Kamara was around three or four when he began a journey on foot during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
"I remember one time we had to run away," Kamara said. "We had to walk like 15 miles to go to the other town. My mom at the time had three kids, and I was the youngest at the time, so we had to walk those distances just to run away. It was actually rough."
Growing up, Kamara was always passionate about education. He had a dream of becoming a medical doctor, but his mother did not have the money to pay for his education.
"Everything changes because of poverty," Kamara added.
Kamara's mother survived by baking.
"As a young kid, my mom was selling bread," Kamara said. "I was not even thinking of coming to America. America was not even in my dream."
Kamara stayed strong and never gave up. He completed high school and started college, later finding a program that would change his life.
This would be the Diversity Visa program. The program gave Kamara the opportunity to become eligible for U.S. citizenship.
"It's like a lottery program," Kamara said. "You go online, fill out your application and after filling out the application, you will be contacted if you get selected for the program."
At age 24, Kamara was accepted and looked into the military, so he could continue his education.
"I get a call that, 'Oh, you got selected to go to America and join the army.' It changed everything," said Kamara.
Kamara made his way to Killeen through the Green to Gold program, selecting Texas because the weather reminded him of home.
"Moving here and experiencing the same way that I have been used to in Africa, that really changed everything," Kamara explained. "It made me fall in love with Central Texas."
And Central Texas has surely fallen in love with him.
"The history he has coming to this program and his life experience really brought a new perspective to all the cadets here on campus," Major Kyle Surridge said. "He really is the epitome of what we want to see here."
Kamara is on track to become a Second Lieutenant in the spring of 2024. He hopes to serve until he retires.
To read more about Kamara's incredible journey, visit this link.
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