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Pvt. Ariana Santiago, of Lowell, during U.S. Army basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia. Santiago, 18, became the first ever female from Lowell to become an Army infantry soldier. PHOTO COURTESY OF ARIANA SANTIAGO

Command Sgt. Major Henry Pantoja and Pvt. Ariana Santiago, both of Lowell, stand together days before Santiago graduated from U.S. Army basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia. Santiago, 18, became the first female from Lowell to become a U.S. Army infantry soldier. PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSICA SANTOS

Pvt. Ariana Santiago, of Lowell, during U.S. Army basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia. Santiago, 18, became the first ever female from Lowell to become an Army infantry soldier. PHOTO COURTESY OF ARIANA SANTIAGO

LOWELL — When Ariana Santiago graduated from Greater Lowell Technical High School in June, she reached a crossroads in her young life: Pursue her interests in the world of cosmetology — where she excels at hair styling and makeup — or join the Army.

Santiago, who turned 18 in May, acknowledges the glaring contrast between these two choices, but points out joining the military was not an off-the-cuff idea. It originated years earlier during her time with the Lowell Student Police Academy, where she encountered men and women in uniform.

She recalls thinking, “I want to do that.”

“I just wanted to serve my country,” Santiago said. “I feel like being in the front-line is a big deal. To be able to help people — I love doing that.”

Santiago’s recruiter told her if she wanted a job in the infantry, it was there for the taking. Confident in her decision to serve her country, Santiago put down the makeup and picked up the camouflage face paint.

Santiago’s career choice was unique. The Army infantry is among the military jobs that has only been available for women to join within the last several years. In December 2015 then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the military to open all combat-related units and military jobs to women with no exceptions.

“Together, we’re going to make sure our military remains the finest fighting force in the history of the world, worthy of all our patriots who serve — men and women,” Carter said in a statement to then-President Barack Obama about the decision.

Though the infantry is now available to women, it’s not a very common choice. Statistics from the Defense Department posted in a 2020 article on the Stars and Stripes website state that at that time there were around 680 enlisted women in the active Army serving as infantry. Meanwhile, there were 55,000 enlisted men in the infantry.

In July, Santiago packed her bags and went to U.S. Army Infantry Training School in Fort Benning, Ga., to complete basic training. There were multiple people in Santiago’s life who didn’t think she would be able to meet the formidable training demands required to earn a spot in the infantry.

Santiago’s mother, Jessica Santos, admits she was one of the skeptics. Santos recalls asking Santiago — her second oldest of four children — “why do you want to do this?”

“When she came to me and said this was what she was going to do, it caught me off guard completely,” Santos said.

Santos described her daughter as a “girly girl,” as well as “tiny.” As Santiago points out, she stands about 4-foot-11.

In order to graduate from Army basic training, Santiago was required to complete a number of tasks, which included rappelling, weapon handling, as well as digging fox holes, sleeping in the field at night in sub-freezing temperatures, and completing a 12-mile ruck march while carrying a 40-pound ruck sack. The final obstacle standing in the way of graduation was finishing a 5-mile run in 45 minutes.

Santiago did it all, finishing the 5-mile run in 43 minutes.

Santiago acknowledges there were times she thought she couldn’t go on. While training she even suffered a knee injury at one point, which required a week of physical therapy.

Despite the challenges, Santiago — along with around 200 other members of Echo Company 2nd Battalion 58th Infantry Regiment — graduated from basic training on Dec. 15. In doing so, Santiago became the first woman from Lowell to join the Army as an infantry soldier.

Santos traveled to Fort Benning to see Santiago’s graduation. While talking about her daughter, Santos uses the term “proud” several times.

“She’s done a lot of things that caught me off guard,” Santos said. “She’s amazing right now. She’s always been amazing — all my kids are amazing — but I still don’t even know what to say.”

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Henry Pantoja, of the 1st Squadron 16th Cavalry Regiment, grew up with Santiago’s parents in Lowell. He has provided a support system for Santiago and the rest of her family, even visiting Santiago and other recruits at Fort Benning.

Pantoja — who also attended Santiago’s graduation ceremony — isn’t surprised by her success.

“She’s as tough as nails,” he said.

Santiago is on leave until Jan. 3, at which time she will join her new unit in Fort Carson, Colo. In the meantime, she plans to stay close to family and friends throughout the holidays. Santiago points out that thinking of her family back in Lowell helped her overcome the hardships she endured.

“I got it done and get to be with my family again,” she said.

Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis