Walking around campus most days of the week, I look pretty normal. A little tired, probably a little sweaty in the morning after going to the gym before my 8 a.m. and partially hunch-backed from carrying around too many books. But, two days a week, I get a few extra stares every time I get on the bus or am walking between classes. Why? Because I'm in the Air Force ROTC and am in uniform.
Many people don't understand ROTC. So, to start off, that fun acronym stands for Reserve Officer Training Corps. In English, what that means is that I am a normal college student who dedicates a few hours each week to becoming a better leader, and that, when I graduate, I will commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and serve for several years. Personally, I hope to stay in for 20.
So, what do we actually do? Well, two mornings a week, I get up extra early and go to work out with 60 of my closest friends at PT, or Physical Training. Usually, we do sprints or distance runs and some calisthenic exercises. We wear the air force PT uniform and, if you ever come into the field house at 6 a.m. on a Tuesday or Thursday, you'll see us all looking alike and laughing while most students at the U are still comfortable in their beds.
I also have a class I go to each week that covers lots of topics the Air Force has deemed important such as history, leadership skills like conflict management or change management and skills like how to write qualitative papers in the Air Force Style Format. To this class, we have to wear a specific uniform but only for the duration of the class.
And, one day a week, each ROTC student wears their uniform all day to class. This is Leadership Lab Day, and it's actually kind of fun. Our two-hour lab teaches us to lead each other through group problems. It makes us think outside the box and utilize each other's skills to ensure that we succeed. In lab, we are taught and evaluated on marching, air force knowledge, leadership ability and teamwork. We have lessons on how to take care of yourself and other people, and we get confident in our own ability to lead a group through major issues.
But, outside this time, I'm just a regular college student. I sleep, I eat at the dining hall, I go to class and I get stressed out over midterms. The only real difference between me and anyone else on campus is that I devote several hours of my week to learning to become an Officer in the Air Force.
As a group, we're all a little weird, but the same thing could be said about all of the music majors. I spend too many hours a week practicing saxophone and piano for my classes, and that's a little weird too. But, I'm putting the time and effort into the areas I plan to develop myself for in the future. And, really, that's what college is all about.
