ShareThisBy BILL McAULIFFE
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The Minneapolis Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes is trading her tiara for a Kevlar helmet and the sands of Iraq.
Jessica Gaulke, chosen in July as Queen of the Lakes for a year, is giving up her title because her National Guard unit has been activated for duty in Iraq. Gaulke, 22, a sociology student at Augsburg College who visited Japan as part of her Aquatennial ambassador duties, will be going to Iraq as a diesel generator mechanic.
As far as anyone knows, it's the first time an Aquatennial queen has been in the military, much less called to active duty during her reign.
Though she said being Queen of the Lakes is "a huge honor," she said she is simply honoring the agreement she made when she committed to the Guard before her senior year.
"It really wasn't a decision that was mine to be made," said Gaulke. "My unit's going. I've accepted it. It's part of the whole scope of why I joined; I'll be there for all of us over here."
Her last day as queen will be Jan. 2, when she will represent the Aquatennial in the Rose Bowl parade.
Gaulke, who played volleyball, hockey and lacrosse and still helps coach the lacrosse team, said her interest in the military stems from her father. He spent 28 years with the Minnesota National Guard, including six months on active duty in Kosovo.
After being notified she'd be going on active duty, Gaulke and her fiance decided to get married Jan. 13. She'll go with her unit in March to Fort Hood, Texas, for training, then to Iraq in August for 12 months. She plans to finish her final semester of college after she returns.
"I really had my life planned: 22, I'd graduate, 23, I'd have a job," she said. "Every life experience is a good experience. It's what you make of it."
