As diplomas are waved and caps get tossed at graduation, some of those who walk will become teachers, while others will become writers or engineers. Others will get shipped out to Germany or Japan to serve as ensigns or lieutenants. A few will already be military officers in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
These men and women have dedicated their first forays into life-after-college to serving their country.
"People think that we're recruiting to drag them off to Iraq," said Captain Charles D. Stampley, whose job is to recruit new ROTC members. "Academics are our number one priority; we want them to finish school."
ROTC graduates start their period of service as second lieutenants or ensigns, who are low ranking officers, depending on their military branch. As a result, even after they've finished their degrees, ROTC students won't necessarily be sent to Iraq, Stampley said. As officers, ROTC students are needed in locations all around the world from Germany to Japan.
The program works like an elective - in addition to the courses required for a degree, students will take one or two ROTC courses per semester.
Cadet John Landry will graduate with a radio-television-film degree, which has nothing to do with his military assignment: field artillery. He is saving his major for his civilian career, which he hopes to pursue after four years of active duty and two years in the reserves. He never thought he would join the military, but the idea grew on him, and he felt a need to serve.
"Before you know it, you're in a uniform, and you're comfortable in it," he said. "I realized how it made me a better person over time."
In a week and a half, Landry expects to get an assignment, a letter that will tell him where his life will take place for the next year. Landry will spend about a year training as a field artillery officer and then in a specific post, which will be assigned to him based on his initial performance. Landry's No. 1 choice is Wiesbaden, Germany. Landry lived in Germany while his father was in the Army. He has studied the language while in college, loves the culture and wants to travel overseas while he's still single.
Plus, he likes German chocolate and gummy bears.
"They know how to do it right," he said, grinning at the childhood memory.
For Cadet Joel White, a math major, the decision was more drastic. In the Air Force ROTC, most students start right out of high school. However it wasn't until after 9-11, in the spring semester of White's freshman year that he decided to join.
"It made me start thinking of the long term - what I wanted to be doing in my life," he said.
Though not one of his preferred positions, White was assigned to Analytical Science.
Only two people of the AFROTC senior class found out that they will be officers in one of the fields they requested in February. White is happy with his assignment, because it's one of the two deployable units in the Air Force, and his wife of over a year won't have to worry about him getting sent to Iraq or Japan. He wants to stick to Texas bases.
His fellow classmate, government senior Cody Robinson can't wait to see the world. AFROTC has paid for Robinson's education for the last four years through a scholarship that he applied for while still in high school. He has been on contract with the Air Force since his freshman year, and while he admits the money is bonus, he would have joined the military with or without the scholarship.
Robinson remembers watching the Gulf War when he was little and being fascinated with the jets and the fact that the pilots were being paid to have such a cool job.
"I've wanted to be a pilot my entire life and just changed my mind," he said, cringing a little, as though he doesn't want to admit that his assignment, a logistics readiness officer, isn't exactly his life-long dream.
But logistics readiness officers, in charge of making sure supplies are sent where they need to be in order of priority - food and ammunition sent before mail for example, are needed in every base. When taking into consideration that he will get to travel a lot, the life-time Texan is content with Air Forces' decision.
To follow his dream, Robinson said he will "cross-train" and learn to be a pilot while he's serving in his current capacity.
Cadet Heather Courtney of the Navy ROTC found out Wednesday that she will serve the U.S. Navy from Yokosuka, Japan on a cruiser-class ship called the CG 62 Chancellorsville.
"It seems interesting to go to a place where everything is totally different," she said. Japan was Courtney's first choice for her home base.
"I'm in the Navy," she said. "I might as well go as far out as I can."
Courtney signed on during her sophomore year, earning a scholarship to cover her remaining tuition and doubling up on ROTC classes to make up for the lost year.
"I don't really think about that much as to why I joined," she said. "We live in society that sometimes I think we take for granted. We have all these different freedoms, we have all these different opportunities. I feel I should help keep them the way they are."
Courtney plans to serve in the Navy for the four-year minimum, though she would allow that to change based on how the career suits her. By 26, she says, she'll be ready to get married and have a family, a difficult task to accomplish in addition to her naval duties.
Business management senior Chris Briley is a little different than other members of ROTC. He has already served four years in the Marines after leaving during his first semester at Steven F. Austin State University when it "didn't work out."
Briley, 25, plans to graduate this summer on the marine enlisted commissioning education program, a program that will allow him to earn his degree and become a commissioned officer while still receiving pay for active duty. His role in ROTC is to be a mentor for the younger students and provide insight through his experiences.
Briley explained that he needed the time while he was in the Marines to decide what exactly he wanted to do with his life. The ROTC students studying to become Marines already know.
"I'm always amazed at how I was and how responsible they are," he said, "They're much more locked on."
Interesting ROTC Facts:
* The lowest ranking commissioned officer for the Navy and Coast Guard is an ensign (pro- nounced en-SEN) while the same rank is called second lieutenant everywhere else.
* Women can still not join the crew on a subma- rine, due to lack of space needed to divide quarters.
Be the first to comment on this article!