Rising Senior, Cadet Romy Nguyen Finds Balance in ROTC
SCU ROTC seeks “confident, intelligent, and well-rounded” students
By Ally O’Connor ’20
Pursuing her longtime goal of joining the military, Romy Nguyen ’20 (Psychology) is making the most of her national four-year ROTC scholarship at Santa Clara University. As a member of the Bronco Battalion—SCU’s ROTC program which includes students from not only SCU but also San Jose State University, UC Santa Cruz, and Stanford University—Nguyen and her fellow cadets develop skills in leadership and management that will aid them both in the military and the corporate sector. At the conclusion of their undergraduate years, these students commission as 2nd Lieutenants and serve a number of years either on active duty, Reserve, or National Guard.
“[Being an ROTC cadet] is unique because there is still time in our schedule to be a college student and enjoy our free time,” says Nguyen, appreciative that the program prioritizes academics and aims to develop officers that are confident, intelligent, and well-rounded.
Alongside her full-time studies, she and the other cadets engage in physical training early in the morning three times a week, but other activities are dictated by class year: “The senior class works directly with instructors to operate and plan out training events for the year and the junior class executes it while being evaluated on their leadership skills. The sophomore class is meant to assist and guide the incoming freshman class into the military and ROTC culture.” Additionally, upperclassmen take Military Science classes, and all cadets attend training labs and a weekend-long field training exercise each quarter.
In her academic studies, Nguyen has enjoyed the ability to study psychology and studio art while on the path to a military career. She notes while her “workload and ROTC responsibilities have gradually increased each year, I've grown more self-assured of my ability to manage my time.”
Driven and excited about her goal of going active duty and making a career out of the Army, Nguyen is “happy with the way things turned out” and “loves being in ROTC” where she can “learn and develop as best I can.”