By John Hurrell

The Reserve Officers Training Corps, better known as ROTC, is a program that gives college students the opportunity to graduate as a U.S. Army Officer. The program is offered at over 1,700 colleges nationwide.

In a report done by Reserve Officers Training Corps Consulting in 2021, 9,300 applicants applied for a ROTC scholarship, but only 2,500 were awarded.

Despite that, there are many non-scholarship ROTC programs available. Every ROTC program is different with some requiring up to eight years of active service (Army, National Guard, Army Reserves) and others only requiring three.

The program entails early mornings, hard workouts, a larger work load, among other commitments all while trying to maintain a healthy college life.

Their motto is “Leadership Excellence” and it promises to shape college students not only into Army Officers, but into brilliant leaders.

David Kleinschuster, a senior at High Point University, joined the ROTC program in 2019 as a sophomore. Alongside his ROTC commitments, Kleinchuster is majoring in Journalism.

“What actually led me was my faith in God,” said Kleinchuster, when asked why he joined. “I, one day, was freaking out thinking about how am I going to pay for High Point? At that point, God kind of led me on a path of faith. I started proclaiming things in faith like ‘God I’m never going to be in debt, you’re going to pay for every penny.’ I just spoke it into existence and God’s peace came over me. The next morning I got a phone call. I usually never pick up the phone unless I know who it is, but something in my spirit said pick it up. So I answered it and it was a recruiter. He told me to join the reserves and that they would pay for my college tuition. I wouldn’t pay a dime and I’ll be debt free. Word for word what I prayed for the day before.”‘

Kleinchuster elaborates on why you must become an expert on time management as an enrollee.

“It was definitely a learning curve when I first joined in,” said Kleinchuster. “I have taken 21 credits for the past six semesters, so that’s a lot of time out of my hands. It was all about time management. Truly the discipline and the recognition that this is my life and you can’t mess around with it. There definitely is a challenge, but you learn to deal with it.”

Max Wheelan, a sophomore at Providence College joined the ROTC program this school year. He is currently majoring in Business.

“I was looking for a way to pay for college and the stress was affecting every part of my life,” said Wheelan when asked why he was gravitated towards the program. “My grades were plummeting and I could barely hold a conversation. I just needed a way to take the burden off. I met with an U.S. Army recruiter after a friend told me about the ROTC program and he put all my worries at ease. I wouldn’t pay a cent”

Similar to Kleinchuster, Wheelan is thankful for the discipline.

“For the first month I was pretty stressed about it, but I got used to the schedule,” said Wheelan. “I honestly feel better now than two years ago. I think the biggest thing that the ROTC program provides me with is the discipline I need to keep a tight schedule. Your lifestyle adapts and it becomes normal. The early mornings can be annoying at times, but it’s getting me ready for the real world.”

Although most praise the ROTC program, not everyone can handle the pressure. A former enrollee who chose to remain anonymous dropped out of the program after only three months. He joined the program his junior year and is still currently pursuing a degree in marketing.

“Honestly, my dad was in the Army and he wanted me to look into the ROTC program,” he said. “I knew what it would entail, since he brought it up when I was in freshman year of college. I told him that college was already stressful enough for me. He told me just try it, if you hate it you can drop out. So I joined basically against my will, so my hopes going in were not high.”

The culmination of stress and time management led him to make the change.

“It ultimately was a mix of stress and an inability to juggle all my commitments,” he said. “Having a late night with homework isn’t allowed anymore if you want to sleep a healthy amount. Homework was the biggest part of it and it left me with strands of a social life. I called my dad and told him I couldn’t do it and I was at my wits end. I dropped out the next day and it was such a weight off of me.”

The Reserve Officers Training Corps program can provide a student a new lease on life and give them the skills they need to not only succeed in the Army, but in the real world. The ROTC program provides scholarships and tuition payments and allows young college students the opportunity to grow not only in your field of study, but as a person.

But like all things, the stress that the program provides can be a daunting task to face. Some thrive under the pressure, while others aren’t able to translate the pressure and properly deal with it.

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For more information on joining ROTC as a college student, check out this article.

John Hurrell is a senior at High Point University majoring in Sports Media. For contact inquiries, please email jhurrell@highpoint.edu.