Sgt. KaLea Swenson spoke to Marshall High School students during a Veterans Day assembly on Friday morning. Swenson shared about her own experiences serving in the Army National Guard, and called on students to be active and engaged citizens.

MARSHALL — Communities around southwest Minnesota observed Veterans Day this week, with programs honoring veterans and members of the U.S. military. But Veterans Day was also a time to reflect more deeply on veterans’ contributions to their country, Sgt. KaLea Swenson said.

“Today really is a day to pay tribute to the generations of men and women who have served and sacrificed,” Swenson told an assembly of Marshall High School students on Friday. Those sacrifices weren’t necessarily just for a person or a place, Swenson said. They were for the freedoms that people in the United States have.

Members of the MHS Honor Society organized a Veterans Day assembly at the high school on Friday morning. The program included members of the American Legion Honor Guard and the MHS choir, and Swenson gave the keynote address.

Swenson is a Marshall resident, who is originally from Canby. As she spoke to students, Swenson reflected on her own experiences joining and serving in the Army National Guard.

“Like many of you juniors and seniors sitting in the crowd, I began this journey at the young age of 17,” Swenson said. That was when she made the choice to join the Army.

“I was relatively aware of the discipline, dedication and unwavering commitment it would require to serve our nation,” Swenson said. After completing basic training and advanced individual training, she moved on to enroll at Southwest Minnesota State University. “At the age of 22, I was newly married, when my journey took a profound and life-altering turn. I received orders that would take me far from the comfort of my college campus and my hometown, and I was deployed to the Middle East.”

During her deployment, Swenson served as the Red Bull Battalion paralegal non-commissioned officer. However, her talk Friday focused more on how the experience of serving in the Middle East changed her life. “It was my first encounter with a world that was radically different than my own,” she said. Her experiences shaped her perspective on the United States.

“Witnessing other cultures and customs, and the struggles of those who face oppression, was a stark reality check that really did leave an impact on me,” Swenson said. “It helped me realize that freedom is not just an abstract concept. It’s a privilege, it’s something we should never take for granted.”

“The rights and liberties we have, the opportunities that lie before us, are the result of sacrifices made by countless soldiers in uniform,” Swenson said. The message of Veterans Day goes beyond just one day on the calendar, she said. “It’s a lifetime of embracing our shared responsibilities toward veterans.”

Swenson encouraged students to remember that veterans are our neighbors, friends and family members, and also to remember that their service is not limited to the time they spent in the military.

“They continue to serve their communities in countless ways, demonstrating leadership, dedication and resilience to the community,” she said. “By following their examples and understanding their sacrifices, we can build a better society together, and contribute to a world they fought so hard to protect.”

Swenson called on students to support organizations that provide vital resources, like health care, education and job opportunities, for veterans.

“And perhaps the most meaningful way we can honor veterans is by living lives that reflect the values they have defended – freedom, equality and justice,” Swenson said. “We have the responsibility to be active, engaged citizens who work toward a brighter future for everyone.”