Phil and Sara Walker have been overseas for the last year, serving in the Army as helicopter pilots, but their stories did not begin 365 days ago.

The two spoke to a group of Honors Mentorship Program students Wednesday at Lanier Charter Career Academy in Oakwood, sharing their experiences both overseas in Afghanistan and the challenges of entering post-secondary education and beyond.

The message: Do not give up on your goals, no matter what obstacles you may encounter.

"At times, I did lose sight of my goals," said Phil, a Gainesville, Fla., native. "And that happens. For every mountain you attempt to climb, you'll probably stumble a little bit. But it's about recovering."

Before joining the Army, Phil was offered an Air Force ROTC scholarship to Florida State University after graduating high school in 2000. During his time there, he "slipped" and found himself taking a break from school and managing various restaurants.

"(Managing restaurants) was all right," he said. "I lived on my own, I had an apartment and I enjoyed myself. But I looked back and I said ‘In 1996 (when he entered high school) I told my father I had lofty goals. This is good. There are a lot of people out there that make a good living doing it, but this is not for me.'"

What he decided to do was go back to school and finish his bachelor's degree in history at the University of South Florida. Once he graduated, he joined the Army and was accepted into the aviation program.

"(The Walkers' presentation) was definitely very encouraging," said North Hall High School senior Taylor Parker. "It's encouraging to know that as I'm approaching college and faced with all these big decisions, that even if I feel knocked down or I feel like I've messed up, there's always that possibility to overcome that and it's not decisive."

Sara Walker, a 2004 North Hall High School graduate, went to North Georgia College & State University, where she was a part of its ROTC program. The high demands of the program gave her some issues, but she, like her husband, persevered and was also accepted into the aviation program.

After completing their training, the two married in December of 2010 and were deployed just weeks later.

They say married life, and life in general, at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, came with its own set of challenges.

Transportation from where they were barracked — about three-and-a-half miles from where they worked — was limited, so walking, running or biking were the only options.

But that didn't bother them as much as living in a Re-locatable Barrack, or "box," as the two refer to it, or dealing with the flooding of the "Poo Pond," a sewage retention pond that often flooded in the rainy season.

But the support they received from home and letters sent by students in the Honors Mentorship Program in Hall County gave them hope.

"We received a lot of very encouraging letters from folks like y'all, if not specifically from y'all," Sara Walker said. "You gave us motivation and it really helped a lot."

They would decorate their "box" with letters from supporters.

But the two know what they are doing is right for them, however dangerous or uncomfortable.

Phil Walker flies medical missions in a Blackhawk, while his wife flies mostly general support missions in the larger Chinook helicopter.

"I thought (the Walkers' story) was kind of inspirational," said Stanton Collins, a senior at North Hall High School. "To keep moving on and follow your dreams (is motivational). It was cool that Sara came from the same school as me and I know it's really competitive to be a pilot, so it's kind of cool to know that there are people around me that are doing it."