Christian Soto always knew he wanted to be in the military.
“I like the ‘service’ aspect of it,” he said last week from his Coast Guard base in New London, Conn. “The military has direction and purpose in it, and I like that.”
Soto, 21, certainly has risen to the challenge of military life, having just been named “Regimental Commander” of cadets at the New London base. This makes Soto the highest-ranking cadet on base. It also brings with it a high level of responsibility.
Said Soto, “I am responsible for 960 cadets. I am responsible for the everyday welfare of the cadets in the academy. I am pretty much the link between the administration and the cadets. I am their representative.” Soto added that “this [becoming the Regimental Commander] has been one of the biggest challenges, but I wouldn’t have applied if I didn’t think I could do it.”
Like most successful people, Soto has a strong support base at home in West New York. Soto’s mother and father have been instrumental in giving Soto a wide worldview. “His father and I raised him in a positive environment,” said Soto’s mother, Christina, last week. “He was raised around attorneys, judges and police officers. We traveled a lot and he saw that it was a big world out there.” Mr. and Mrs. Soto both worked for the Bronx district attorney’s office, he as an assistant DA, and she as an interpreter. Mr. Soto is now a teacher at the No. 1 School in West New York, and Mrs. Soto is a screenwriter and photographer.
According to Soto’s mother, the original plan was for Christian to be an actor. “We had him acting early on. He was a SAG actor [Screen Actor’s Guild]. He was in “The Super” with Joe Pesci. He worked on 12 films, some mainstream, mostly independent.” However, Soto’s aspirations began to run counter to his mother’s. “He told his father and I that he didn’t want to do it anymore, and we said ‘OK,’ ” said Christina Soto. “I let him do what he wanted.”
“So now I am pushing our youngest into acting,” Soto jokingly added.
Soto’s original plan had him interested in the Navy. But, “I wound up going to a summer course at the Coast Guard Academy,” he said. “It’s called the ‘Academy Intro Mission’ [AIM] and it was very challenging. In terms of leadership, it was very different. There was lots of physical activity. When I returned home, I was pretty motivated [to go into the Coast Guard].”
Fittingly, Soto wasn’t satisfied with just being an “enlisted man” [non-officer]. Said Soto, “I knew I wanted to go into the service academy [a college that gives officer-in-training a full scholarship]. But unfortunately, my SATs and High School scores didn’t meet their criteria [Soto graduated from St. Joseph’s in West New York]. I was kind of disappointed at first, but then I heard that the academy has a ‘prep school.’ They knew I’d make a good cadet, so I opted for the prep school.” The school, called the Navy Academy Preparatory School, is run by the Navy. The Coast Guard shares space with the Navy in the facility.
As a condition of Soto’s enrollment in the service academy, he must serve for five years as an officer after the four years of “service academy” training. In all, it’s a nine-year commitment.
This is something Soto seems to take in stride. “I can’t say that the Coast Guard will be my career for life,” he said. “I still have five years of commitment in front of me. I will say that the day I leave the Coast Guard is the day I stop having fun.”
Perhaps as a testament to a nature his mother calls “independence,” Soto is already looking ahead. Said Soto, “I do look ahead beyond the next five years. I struggle with thinking about not being home. I see how important a healthy education system is. My first step after the Coast Guard would to become a teacher.” Soto indicated that he would like to become a calculus teacher. Said Soto, “I’d like to help poorer districts like West New York. Hopefully, I can give something back to the system.”
Soto also indicated that he fully intends to return to Hudson County after his Coast Guard career. “I am definitely proud of being from West New York,” said Soto. “It was sort of culture shock when I got here. Most of my classmates are from upper middle-class backgrounds, but I think where I am from sets me apart here. I was able to bring some insight and some different experiences here.”
With war possibly on the horizon, Soto’s mother is understandably concerned. “Every time I turn on the news, I cry,” said Soto. “But Chris is in boats everyday. They deal with immigrants coming in. It’s a dangerous job.” Soto added, “I tell Chris, ‘that could have been you.’ ”
Christian Soto sums everything he’s done and experienced so far this way: “I like challenges.”
Says his mother, “Chris has always stood out in a crowd.”