By Michael Tomko, GoDuke.com

DURHAM, N.C. -- Ductus exemplo. The words mean 'leadership by example'. It is the motto of the Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va., for the Marine Corps. They are words that struck a chord with Duke graduate Kevin Mayer, who during the 2008 summer attended the 10--week Officer Candidate School.

On May 11 of this year, a day after graduating from Duke University, Mayer accepted his commission into the Marine Corps, receiving his first salute, becoming a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Head coach John Danowski and the rest of his teammates were on hand to witness Mayer receive his oath.

"It was incredible having [Danowski] and the whole team there because they are so much of what I have been the past five years," Mayer said. "I know I would not be as prepared to go and be an officer in the Marine Corps had I not been a member of the Duke men's lacrosse team. That helped me in so many ways."

Last week, on June 2nd, he reported back to Quantico to begin Basics school, which will last for five to six months. The urge to do something important and something that would help bring meaning to his life has always been important for the Duke defensemen. Words from his father, Dr. Tom Mayer, a 1977 Duke graduate, played an invaluable role as Mayer looked to find what he was passionate about.

"My dad has always told me, 'The best thing you can do is find where your deep joy intersects the world's deep need'," Mayer said.

But when Mayer attended Officer Candidate School last summer, he did it without knowing if he would accept his commissioning into the Marine Corps.

"I said I'll go, and then I'll think about it for a few months before I make a decision and the longer I was back at school from having gone to OCS the more I realized how much it meant to me," Mayer said. "It was so important, and I had such a great opportunity in front of me to keep going with this and to hold myself to a high standard of a four--year commitment and maybe beyond that."

For Mayer the 10 weeks were as much of a mental test as they were a physical challenge, but with the support of his teammates on the men's lacrosse team and his family the Great Falls, Va. native completed his 10 weeks graduating first out of his company.

He described Candidate School as a screening process where the officers place physical and mental stress on the candidates to see how they respond, adapt and think during demanding situations.

Fifty percent of the training dealt with building leadership skills, while another 25 percent involved academics and the final 25 percent was physical training.

"I think the most stress I almost put on myself," Mayer said. "For the first three weeks I wanted to succeed so badly, and it was something that I wasn't really familiar with. I didn't really have any military background. It was everything from knowing when to salute and making sure your uniform is ready every day, and then the sleep deprivation was hard. You are so worried when you get there that it is hard to sleep because you're worried about what you have to make sure you accomplish the next day."

When Mayer looks back over the time spent at OCS, he remembers an exercise that was, while he was doing it, one of the most exhausting and mentally tiring he had ever completed in his life, but now understands the importance it served.

"We spent one day running in and out of our squad base for about an hour and a half and every time we would get in take off all our gear," he said. "They would say, 'Too slow, put it back on. Go back out'. That is something that I remember as one of those moments where you're doing it, it's the worst thing you have ever done, but now I look back and sort of remember it fondly. It is one of those things that I am glad that I pushed through when I was there and kept the larger picture in mind."

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2009-06-10