By Anna-Kate Weichel
Corporal Glenn Cerny made the brave decision to serve our country at the age of 19.
This was something that had been weighing on his heart since he graduated high school one short year earlier. Cerny had been working as a manager at an OnCue gas station and praying about what God had in store for his future. Repeatedly, recruiters for the armed services came in and struck up conversation with him.
All it took was prayer and one special conversation with one of the recruiters that made him know that God was nudging him.
“I felt called without a shadow in mind that that was what I was supposed to do,” recalled Cerny.
And so he went.
After two consecutive deployments with the U.S. Marine Corps, COVID-19 trapped Cerny overseas for several months. During that time, he had an excess of time to think about what was next for him. He prayed to God and pondered how He would use him in his next steps of life.
Upon returning home to Oklahoma, Cerny reflected a lot on his new perspective. He said that being in the military gave him a deeper perspective of God and His nature.
“This is a man who laid down His life for me, for you and for whoever else is called down to believe,” he said. “In the military, you have people who will
bleed for you. That’s what God has done for all of us.”
Cerny was still figuring out what his next move would be when he was working as a concession stand clerk at the College Softball World Series. A MACU softball player, Adrienne Phillips, struck up a conversation with him and suggested that he attend MACU.
The rest, Cerny said, is history. He enrolled in MACU’s College of Arts and Graduate Studies (CAGS) and now only has three semesters left until he will graduate with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Ethics. Then, he plans to continue his education at MACU with a graduate degree.
“I love the students, faculty and staff. I’ve never met a stranger here,” he said. “People genuinely care for you and your success at MACU.”
Although Cerny’s career hasn’t been linear, he said that he has been trying to follow God’s will for his life as best as possible.
“We are sheep and He is a shepherd,” he said. “So, I look at it as sheep can still be in the pasture but wander off. He will always bring us back.”