Western students gain leadership experience at ROTC camp

AUGUSTA, Mich.—Suiting up in fatigues and leading teenagers through gruelling physical and mental challenges on a sweltering summer day isn't something most people would enthusiastically volunteer for. But cadets in Western Michigan University's Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) aren't most people.

"They're driven to be something greater than themselves," says Billy Clayton, Army ROTC scholarship and enrollment officer.

The cadets joined officers from the Michigan National Guard for a three-day summer leadership camp on Western's campus and at Fort Custer Training Center. The cadre—which included incoming ROTC juniors and one sophomore who will take a lead role in next year's camp—led 30 students from high schools and colleges in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana through marching and drilling exercises, tactics training, orienteering, rappelling, and confidence and leadership reaction courses.

"The event allowed us to bring in prospective students and let them see what it's like to be a cadet for a few days,” says U.S. Army Lt. Col. Brandon Tennimon, WMU ROTC commander. “It is an excellent opportunity for young individuals to see if this is something that would interest them once they get into college."

"It was great to see how they developed after I mentored them," adds Jensen Schneiderhan, an ROTC cadet from Calumet, Michigan, studying aviation technical operations. He was charged with planning and executing the obstacle course portion of the camp. "They really impressed me in ways I didn't expect."

Schneiderhan and fellow cadets gained valuable leadership experience, tasked with planning and executing all aspects of the camp as well as evaluating participants on their growth each day.

"I've been loving it," says Carly Ness, a sophomore studying aviation flight science. She is taking everything in this year as she prepares to take a lead role in next year's camp. "It's really great having this leadership opportunity, being able to understand, adapt, overcome, see different challenges and find different routes to go."

Despite shimmying through the dirt under barbed wire, lunging over lofty logs and traversing water obstacles that seemed nearly impossible, camp participants pressed on, learning to lean on their squad for strength and encouragement when tasks sometimes seemed impossible.

"There was an obstacle with rope that I was able to go through really quickly, but my least favorite was the barbed wire crawling," says Ben Higgins, of suburban Detroit, who plans to study aviation flight science at Western in the fall. "Once, right at the end, I didn't realize I wasn't all the way through and I caught my pants (on the wire)."

"It's been hard work, but with my squad it's been fun," adds Alexis Taylor, an incoming first-year student from Mason, Michigan, who is interested in political science and, ultimately, becoming a lawyer. She is joining Western's ROTC program to keep a family military tradition going. "I'm looking forward to learning new things and becoming more of a leader."

While the camp gives participants a taste of military life, they're under no obligation to join. Those who go on to participate in Western's ROTC program have the potential to earn financial support through scholarships as well as build essential skills, such as problem-solving, communication and adapting to adversity, which will set them up for success in their careers and life.

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