Hundreds of ROTC students from the graduating class of 2003 will
leave UCLA to enter careers in the military.
While students have varying reasons for originally joining ROTC,
they agree that they are excited about a career in the military
even while some of their family members might not be.
Fourth-year aerospace engineering student Josh Togerson said his
primary motivation for joining Air Force ROTC was the full
scholarship it offered.
“I got on for the scholarship but I stayed because I
enjoyed it so much,” he said.
Angela Yoon, a fourth-year political science student in Army
ROTC, said she initially joined because she wanted to get involved
in an extracurricular activity.
“It was something that I didn’t have any serious
plans about doing, but once I got involved, it became something I
wanted ““ to give myself the opportunities that were open to
students and to female officers,” she said.
Some students are motivated to join the military because of a
family tradition of military service.
Kyle Hartman, a fourth-year molecular, cell and developmental
biology student in ROTC Navy, said the family tradition of military
service included him and his brother, who is also in the Navy.
“The way I grew up, it was just important to serve my
country,” he said.
Many ROTC students begin service in the military before pursuing
their education at UCLA.
David Schulz, a fourth-year political science and history
student whose father is a veteran, said he never planned on
pursuing a four-year degree after serving in the army ““ until
he discovered he would need a four-year degree to fulfill his
desire to be an officer.
“I had no intentions of coming back to school at all. I
didn’t even like high school, so for me that was the biggest
challenge,” he said.
Rodney Linch, a fourth-year international development studies
student in Army ROTC, spent six years in Navy service and said
while he was in active duty he never thought he would later go back
into the military.
“After a couple years I started really missing it, so it
was in the back of my mind,” he said. “After Sept. 11,
(2001), I was very motivated to join up again.”
While students said they are excited about their plans for next
year, many of their parents have expressed their doubts.
Linch said although his father, a marine corps officer, supports
him, his mother and most of his siblings are very against his
military career.
“Even very recently, (my mom) was trying to talk me out of
it,” he said. “(My family members) are all worried
about me potentially going overseas, but whenever I sense that
they’re worried I try to tell them that the Army is going to
train me well and that I’ll be in good hands, so I have
absolute faith in the future.”
For students entering the military, their experiences at UCLA
have ranged from preparing them academically for the field to
helping them learn to interact socially with different people.
Linch said his international development studies major was
beneficial in teaching him about places he may later be stationed
““ such as the Middle East.
“Especially with what’s going on right now, I think
that it’s been invaluable to understand some of the
frustrations and concerns of people within that developing
region,” he said.
Shulz said coming to UCLA after six years in the military
exposed him to views he was not accustomed to hearing, and that now
his leadership skills were enhanced by learning to see the big
picture.
“The only way you’re going to (have an open mind) is
to hear the other side of the story and to hear what UCLA has to
offer and to teach,” he said.