Seton Hall students explained their everyday experience as a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadet.
Gianna Dejesus, a sophomore social and behavioral sciences major, said she has been a part of the ROTC program for two years. Dejesus said cadets have to be up and ready to go by 7 a.m. for physical training, which usually lasts for around an hour before they have to go to class.
In addition to going to classes, Dejesus said cadets also must attend Friday ROTC classes from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., which cover military science and leadership roles and responsibilities. She added that there are also special tactical and field exercises some Fridays, which are usually held at South Mountain Reservation, and typically last from 6:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Sometimes, even special joint operations are conducted with ROTC members from different units, in order to hone their sense of teamwork and collaboration, Dejesus said.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, however, as ROTC cadets can get involved in various other activities within the program. Dejesus described the Ruck Club as one of those activities. She said that cadets can go on hikes carrying army bags filled with heavy weights, or can be a part of the ambassador program where cadets travel to other schools and set up information and recruitment tables.
They also explained the advantages of joining the program, the expectations of cadets and the requirements necessary to maintain a position within ROTC.
Vincent Verdile, a junior diplomacy and international relations major, talked about the special courses that cadets take as part of ROTC.
“Cadets are enrolled in military science courses that span from their freshman year to senior year,” Verdile said.
“Each course is taught by either a non-commissioned officer, or an officer in the United States Army.”
Verdile added that the curriculum includes time management, leadership and problem solving skills, all the way to writing operation orders and learning about military movement and tactics.
“What I have learned along the way through this program [is] time management because I am able to be prompt when it comes to attendance or coursework in and out of ROTC,” Dejesus said. She said she learned the importance of daily challenges, and to be fully ready for what the future has to offer.
“I say this because being an ROTC cadet and college student is a challenge on a daily basis, but I feel more prepared for whatever the future has to offer,” Dejesus said. “I learned that I could make a great leader because I have never been more motivated to succeed and be a leader.”
Katherine Wilson, a senior diplomacy and modern languages major, said that through the program, many doors have opened for her. “Just through ROTC, I received the opportunities to travel to Djibouti, Kyrgyzstan, and Germany,” Wilson said.
Wilson said that in her freshman year, she was awarded the Cultural Understanding and Leadership Program (CULP) slot to Djibouti, where she worked alongside Djiboutian cadets to learn about their military.
She added that in her sophomore year, she was awarded the Project Global Officer (GO) slot in Kyrgyzstan, where she was sent to study Russian for two months in a fully immersive environment.
Wilson said that in her junior year she was awarded a U.S. European Command Internship in Stuttgart, Germany.
Here, she said she worked with some of the military’s brightest officers regarding military operations in Europe.
Pierre La Monica can be reached at pierre.lamonica@student.shu.edu.
