By Robert Hudson

The Selma Times-Journal

MARION — New Marion Military Institute students — rather cadets — said goodbye to mom and dad and were welcomed into a new kind of family.

MMI Service Academy Preparatory cadets arrived on campus Tuesday to begin their one-year stay in Marion.

“We have all of our Service Academy Prep cadets coming in,” said Lt. Col. James G. Lake, MMI’s Vice President for Enrollment Management. “Those are our students that come to MMI for a year of prep work and then go on to the academies.”

Cadets ranging from 17- to 19-years-old were helped to move in by parents and MMI alumni.

Cadets spend one year at MMI as preparation before they head off to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado or the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, depending on their branch of service.

Lake said the new cadets were getting school matters organized and moving in before classes start on Wednesday, Aug. 17.

Lake added the rest of the students, ROTC and leadership education students, attending MMI would move in Wednesday.

“Really what they’re doing is they’re in processing,” Lake said. “They’re coming to admissions and making sure they have all the paperwork that’s necessary. Then they work their way through the stations including financial aid and the business office.”

New cadets were also assigned rooms and uniforms.

Lake said the arrival of the cadets is another sign of MMI’s growth.

“We’re really excited about this school year,” Lake said. “We’re starting to experience some growth in enrollment and expansion of facilities, so it’s an exciting time for us to be here on campus.”

Excitement was not the only feeling in the air.

“I feel nervous, but at the same time it’s bittersweet being away from my family and friends,” said Garret McMacin, an SAP cadet from Inman, S.C. “It’s awesome that I get to come here and make new friends. I really am looking forward to getting my career started.”

McMacin’s parents said they feel a sense of pride.

“We’re excited about him starting off his new career and proud of him for all his accomplishments,” McMacin’s father, Keith, said.

“We’re hoping he does well and then goes to the Air Force Academy in Colorado,” McMacin’s mother, Rita, said.

Along with the pride parents have for sending their sons off to MMI, there’s also a little bit of sadness.

“I’m sad. He’s my baby,” said Janey Golani, mother of SAP cadet Yousip Golani. “I have four children and he’s the last one. He’s the only one going to leave state to go to school, but we’re proud of him and we know he’s going to do well and it’s a great future for him.”

Golani brought her son all the way from their hometown of Dearborn Heights, Mich. along with her husband, daughter and nephew to move Yousip in.

Yousip said he’s excited and feels welcome at MMI.

“It feels good,” Yousip said. “I got a warm welcoming when I got here. Everyone seems pretty nice here and it seems pretty good.”