Even at his most sore and exhausted, Oscar Sanchez knew he had to be there for his “brothers,” as they carried a 250-pound inflatable boat on their heads as they were training as Navy SEALs.

That need for endurance — and proving a short, slight Latino kid could do the work — drew Sanchez to become a Navy SEAL after he graduated from high school more than a decade ago. The Navy recruiter who came to Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, told him more than 90% of men who try end up quitting.

Sanchez was one of 14 cadets to graduate from the program in 2009, down from an original 252 enrollees.

“I’m a little guy, I’m like 5-5” and used to weigh 130 pounds,” Sanchez said. “Growing up with that chip on my shoulder, it was my way to prove everybody wrong and show the world I can do anything.”

Once he got through the physical training as well as two more years of professional development and qualification training, he spent 10 months helping to stabilize a village and protecting civilians from the Taliban in Afghanistan.

His second deployment was to South America, where he worked with Special Forces to counter human trafficking and narcotics activities. His background as a native Spanish speaker came in handy.

Since then, Sanchez has been instructing Seals in their predeployment training and mentoring men and women to help them develop the mental and physical stamina needed to become Seals.

School officials at Eisenhower have taken notice, presenting him the Distinguished Alumni Award and the chance to speak at this year’s graduation ceremonies on May 22.

When he was a student at the school in Blue Island, Sanchez said he craved structure and discipline. He was part of the school’s U.S. Marine Corps JROTC drill team and a team captain in track, wrestling and cross country.

“I felt like maybe I needed it with the rambunctious young kid I was,” he said. “It was a good way for me to check myself. I had a responsibility

and didn’t want to get into trouble.”

As a teen, he also faced the growing gang problem in his neighborhood.

“I looked for a better route,” said Sanchez. “I knew that while everybody who was gang banging or selling drugs were making money, it wouldn’t last.”

He also got a boost from teacher Michelle Alfano, who oversaw a Spanish for Spanish Speakers class.

“He was a goofy boy, he had lots of energy … he was always climbing on things,” recalls Alfano, who retired two years ago after teaching at the school for several decades. “What was so cool was that he was able to channel that energy into being a Navy SEAL.”

Sanchez said Alfano played a big part in his transformation, acting as a mentor and teaching him some important life lessons.

“For many, many years, for the kids to get out of my classrooms, at the door, they would have to shake my hand and say a complete sentence to me, looking me in the eye,” said Alfano. “That just goes so well with the military, even though the intention was to put them out in the workplace.”

But Alfano also gave Sanchez and fellow students a chance to see what life might be like both with and without gangs. Students wrote to prisoners and heard back from them about their experiences.

“It was very much about saying, ‘Do you want to play with this stuff? OK, let’s talk to some people who played with it and see how that went for them,” Alfano said.

She also showed them support and warmth, and the importance of doing one’s best and never giving up, Sanchez said.

“She was a big help to me,” said Sanchez, who has been back a few times to talk to Alfano’s classes. “She did a lot of mentoring for me.”

He plans to tell students at the upcoming graduation some of what he learned in high school and the military.

“One thing I plan to talk about is that you don’t have to be whatever your environment says, you don’t have to be whatever stigma or stereotypes someone puts on you,” said Sanchez. “If people tell you you can’t or don’t believe in you, you can believe in yourself.”

Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.