As the Corps Commander, senior Rachel Brown looks around the circle of ROTC students. She sees the smiles on their faces as they work in joy. She sees their dedication amidst the joy. She sees their respect to the activity at hand. Rachel is proud to be a leader of such a team. “I love when we get together,” Rachel said. “ I see how close our family really is and why I chose to be the Corps Commander.”As a freshman, Rachel joined ROTC without any specific goals. Then as sophomore year rolled in, she set her mind on becoming the Corps Commander.
“I’ve done a lot over the years, helping at events and just proving to the instructors that I can do it,” Brown said.
Now that Rachel is in charge of the ROTC students, the hard work has really paid off, but it is definitely not over. Every day there is a flag to be put up, an announcement to be made, a pledge to be said, among other duties, and Rachel is in charge.
“Everything comes back to me,” Brown said. “ If something’s done right it’s ‘Good job Rachel,’ and if something’s done wrong it’s ‘Bad job Rachel.’”
The position has ups and downs. As Rachel said she gets to witness the closeness of the ROTC family, an up. But there are also those “bad job Rachel moments” when a mistake is made, a down.
“It’s super stressful [to be in charge of everyone],” Brown said. “But, it’s also really good. ROTC has taught me a lot.”
