And what a challenge it was.

“I knew I wanted to go into the military, I just didn’t know what I wanted to do after school. I wanted the challenge, I wanted to explore new things, I wanted to serve our country,” Canto said.

Canto served in the Marine Corps from 2004 to 2008. Today she’s the juvenile court liaison at Fort Dodge Middle School.

While in the Marines, Canto’s military occupational specialty, or MOS, was a 0121 – personnel clerk.

-Submitted photo
Ashley Canto's official portrait while she served in the USMC.

“I worked with pay, making sure all the Marines in my unit got paid,” she said. “Travel orders, deployment orders … it was mostly the paperwork side of everything.”

As a young woman right out of high school, the Marines gave Canto a ticket to see the world – she was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, for two years.

“It was amazing,” she said. “I felt like I learned a lot about the culture.”

Canto was also able to learn a little bit of the language and, along with a friend from her unit, tutored a local Japanese girl who wanted to learn English in order to become an airplane pilot or flight attendant.

“We would go to her house and we would tutor her and then her family would cook us fresh meals,” she said. “Their house is so different. Their kitchen table is like sunk into the ground and you sit on the floor. It was just a really cool experience. They made us homemade sushi. It was just probably one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had.”

That was Canto’s first time outside of the United States, which wasn’t always easy for her.

“Honestly, being away from home was challenging, because it was my first time being away,” she said.

But that wasn’t all that was difficult for the young recruit.

“Obviously boot camp is tough everywhere, that is a very challenging part of it,” Canto said. “Being a woman in the mix is very hard and it’s just trying to make sure you hang with everybody else and you’re an equal part of it. That was very challenging.”

For her last 18 months in the USMC, Canto was stationed at Fort Snelling in Minneapolis, Minnesota. That’s where she met her husband, Dennys Canto.

Ashley Canto, by then a lance corporal, finished her contract with the USMC in 2008 and the couple got married and were re-stationed to St. Louis, Missouri, while Dennys Canto continued to serve in the Marines. After their first son was born in 2011, Dennys Canto got out of the Marines and the family moved back to Fort Dodge.

“When I got out in 2008, I started college,” Ashley Canto said. “I have a degree in human services and shortly after that, I started working for the district. I worked at the high school first and then went to Butler Elementary and now I’m here at the middle school.”

Canto was able to use her G.I. Bill benefits to pay for her college education.

Canto is very proud of her time in the military.

“Giving that time to my country, just serving my country is something that I’m very proud of,” she said. “I feel like I look at the flag differently than other people. The national anthem means a lot to me and there’s a lot of things that really mean a lot to me. Our kids do the Pledge of Allegiance every day and that means a lot to me. And I talk to the kids about that.

“I think I’m just most proud that I went through it and I did it and it’s something I always wanted to do, so I’m glad I went through with it and I had those great experiences.”

Canto has some advice for young people who are thinking about joining the military.

“If you’re thinking about going that route, it’s the best experience that I’ve ever had,” she said. “I wouldn’t take it away or change it at all. It’s something that you’ll always remember. I think that it matures you in a different way and it changes you in a different way than you can ever imagine, so it’s a really good learning experience.”