The Journey to Reaching My Goal by Brooke

The Journey to Reaching My Goal by Brooke - July 2015 Scholarship Essay

As a young teenager, just about to graduate from Gibbs Senior High School, I never thought that I would want to be in the Army. I used to watch JROTC students while I was at track and field practice and wondered what in the world they were doing flipping rifles and holding flags and I wondered why they wanted to do that. Definitely not knowing that in my senior year of college I would be named Cadet of the Year.

When I finally decided that I was going to be a Rattler at Florida A&M University, my brother told me over and over again to go sign up for ROTC to see what it was all about. Now my brother is enlisted in the U.S. Army, but as for me, I didn’t want anything to do with it… it just wasn’t me, or so I thought. Somehow my mother found out that the ROTC program offered various scholarship opportunities to help pay for college so she also told me it may be a good idea to go ahead and check it out. Finally, I was convinced; I’ve walked past this building before, with the green cannon and flag pole outside; but this time I was going in. I opened the door and saw orange steps and full body length mirror at the top that read, “Check your uniform.” I went to go talk to a recruiter and long story short, I was now a FAMU Army ROTC cadet; it was hilarious to me how much I actually began to enjoy myself, learn and grow
Somewhere around my junior year is when I was getting really excited about graduating college... classes were becoming more specific to my degree, they were all being held in the School of Allied Health, and most of them were filled with the same colleagues I see in every other class. Graduation was upon me; but more importantly, being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army was creeping upon me as well. Other than graduating, being commissioned active duty in the Medical Services Corp. is my number one goal in my college career; and ever since I joined the program, I’ve been chipping away at it, little by little.

To be effective in the Army ROTC program, there are a few different categories one strives to excel in; these categories include: taking and passing the physical fitness test every month, maintaining a 3.0 and above GPA, and doing well at leadership development exercises that happen often throughout the school year; and of course there is the commitment and loyalty to the program. As a cadet/ college student, I excel in all of my classes, maintaining a 3.3 GPA and continually striving for higher; I max out the physical fitness tests nearly every time I take them; and I lead others by being confident, energetic and deliberative when completing various tasks and operations. Also, I showed my dedication to the program as I worked with the Battalion Human Resources Rep on a weekly bases, completing administrative tasks that were vital to keeping the Rattler Battalion running smoothly.

I work hard to reach that goal, because I know that becoming an active duty Medical Services Officer is not easy and it’s not just going to fall into my lap, unless I do things that will guide it in my direction! I’ve learned that I can’t sit around and wait for my goals to be reached, I actually have to fight to reach them. This past fall my hard work was recognized at the Battalion Military Ball, where I was honored the Superior Cadet Award, Cadet of the Year, as well as being ranked number one in my graduating/ commissioning class. I was truly blessed and it made me feel that much closer to reaching my goal of becoming an active duty officer. To know that everything I have been doing in the program for these last four years is actually benefiting my battalion, my peers and the people I mentor, and that mentor me, is a really great feeling. I feel as if I have left my mark, and that I will be an example to the ones I will be leaving behind at graduation; and that’s important to me.

This coming December I will be ending one of my best journey’s I have had in my life… this road trip I will call college. I never thought that I would be a soldier, but right after graduation this year, I will be making my family and friends proud during my commissioning ceremony. Where my number one goal, other than graduation, will be met; and everyone will see that hard work, determination and discipline is all you need in the goal reaching instruction manual to get the job done.