Big Checks and Bold Futures: The Unconventional Journey of an ROTC Cadet

“Not your typical college experience.”

Printed at the top of a Gonzaga Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) flier, it’s something of an understatement.

“On Thursdays, we usually perform some sort of battle drill,” sophomore Elyse Mckenna ('26) says. “It’s exactly like what you’d see in the movies. We’re all in our uniforms, we’re issued fake rifles and split up into squads.”

When the curriculum involves extra classes, early morning wake-up calls – not to mention advanced camps at forts across the country – it’s safe to say this college experience is anything but typical.

“There are also labs based off infantry tactics,” Scholarship and Enrollment Advisor Dave McRae says. “They’ll conduct an attack while other cadets act like the enemy, and they have to be under stress. They have to make decisions and react.”

But it’s not always the extraordinary experience that draws college students to ROTC.

It’s also one of the largest scholarship programs in the country. Thousands are awarded either partial or full scholarships every year, in exchange for a commitment to the armed forces.

“It’s a really meaningful moment,” McRae says, referring to the ceremony at the start of the school year when scholarship recipients officially swear an oath to the nation and are handed a big check.

And it really is a big check.

That ceremony for Gonzaga ROTC happened at the end of September. This year, 11 cadets shook hands and posed for pictures with comically large cardboard checks.

Maybe not so funny when you think about the value of the journey they’re about to embark on.

“It’s officially the start of their career,” he says. “We hand them that check, and it says, ‘This is how much the Army is investing in you, a future leader.’”

Investing in Future Leaders

Involvement in ROTC can start as early as high school.

Seniors have the option to apply for the four-year scholarship before they even come to campus. This means a lengthy application, a physical fitness test, an interview and about a 30% chance of acceptance.

Unsure how he’d pay for college and laughingly saying that every other option “sounded super boring” – kinesiology major Danner Smith ('27) took this route.

“It felt very normal,” he describes the process of taking the ACT and SAT just like any other high school senior, with one exception. “The weirdest experience was my interview. I went into a room with a board of individuals who all had really thick packets, and they knew everything about me.”

That interview led to a full-ride scholarship.

“Dude, you got the four-year,” Smith remembers what he was told when he picked up the phone. “Wherever you choose to go, it’s all paid for.”

For others who may not be ready to commit to the military at the age of 17, freshman year can act like a no-strings-attached trial.

Environmental science major Mckenna, sworn in this year as a three-year scholarship recipient, comes from a military family. With two brothers who attended West Point and another who's a GU ROTC alum, she says the influence was there, but it took her a while to feel sure it was the right path.

She joined ROTC uncommitted her freshman year and worked hard – adjusting to a new schedule, a new lifestyle, even getting a recommendation from a leader in the program.

By her second semester, not only was she sure of her decision, but Mckenna had won a three-year scholarship valued at more than $175,000.

“I worked so hard to get that scholarship, and when I finally did it was so rewarding,” she says. “It means they saw potential in me.”

Unlocked Potential

It’s certainly not for everyone. But while some may seem like the cookie-cutter cadet, neither Mckenna nor Smith consider themselves the “typical recruit.”

“Not every day is easy,” Mckenna says. “I would say there’s never an easy day in ROTC, but that’s not a bad thing. I push myself every single day and build mental and physical toughness.”

But, she adds, “It’s definitely worth it at the end of the day.”

Smith says it’s the community he’s found in his battalion that keeps him from feeling out of place at GU. “Even though I’m not doing the same thing as every other college student, I have a group that’s doing the same thing as me.”

“If I feel funny walking around in camo, they feel funny. If I’m tired, they’re tired,” he continues. “It’s like we’re in this craziness together, and sometimes it sucks, but when it does, it sucks together.”

And on those hard days, when the 5 a.m. wake-up call is in the dark and there’s morning frost lining the Centennial Trail, it’s natural to wonder why they do it in the first place. She credits a sense of purpose, among other things.

“Sometimes people will thank me for my service when I’m in my uniform, and it’s nice to know I’m making a difference and the role I’m playing for this country is important,” she says, then laughs and adds that her big check is now hung up in her room. A glance at that helps get her out of bed on particularly early mornings, too.

ROTC is not a typical college experience, and it may not be for everyone. But if you find yourself thinking, “There’s no way I could do that,” Mckenna says to give yourself a little more credit.

“I think people would be surprised by their own potential,” she muses. “I didn’t think I was strong enough to do this – waking up early, putting on a rucksack, running 12 miles – but I unlocked that potential and realized I am.”