Creating a new path for herself and clearing a path for her younger brother - that is what U.S. Marine Sgt. Roxanne Gorostieta, the administrative chief with the Command Element, I Marine Expeditionary Force, used as motivation when joining the Marine Corps.

Gorostieta spent the first five years of her life in Hermosillo, Sorona, Mexico, before her mother came to the U.S. with her children to create a better life for them.

“My mom is my example,” said Gorostieta. “She’s paved the way for me to be able to do what I want to. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have been able to join the Marine Corps.”

Growing up in Phoenix, Gorostieta wanted to be something more than herself, she wanted to travel, and she wanted to be a role model for her younger brother. Her mother taught Gorostieta and her siblings they can do anything if they have the motivation to do so. Her younger brother joined the Marine Corps two years after her, and she has taken everything she has learned thus far to help her brother throughout his career.

Over the course of her career, Gorostieta has used physical fitness and the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program as her main sources of motivation.

“Fitness is important to me because it shows your true character, your determination, your dedication,” said Gorostieta. “Everything you do to better yourself is such a big deal in the Marine Corps.”

Fitness and MCMAP play a large role in Gorostieta’s career. While going through the Martial Arts Instructor course, Gorostieta realized she had unlocked a new level to herself. The course taught her she was capable of doing so much more than what she believed she could. Being an instructor showed Gorostieta that she can become a more effective leader, she is now able to help her Marines advance in their careers. Gorostieta believes Marines can draw an endless number of lessons from martial arts.

Gorostieta has set goals for herself to help reach the next phase in her Marine Corps career. Her major goals are to ultimately become a drill instructor and then a sergeant major, but her primary focus is being the best leader she can be for her Marines.