By Stacey Axler
Three Hood ROTC students recently applied for and were offered the opportunity to travel out ofMarylandwith various programs.
As the first students from the Hood ROTC to have this opportunity, sophomore Gunther Zimmer, sophomore Bethany Johnson, and junior Erica Burgess are eager to travel with different programs for a time period of roughly a month in the summer to gain real world experience.
“I’m really excited to travel to different countries—something I get to experience through ROTC,” said Zimmer.
Both Zimmer and Johnson applied for CULP, Cultural Language Program, and were chosen out of 1500 applicants to participate in a program that allows them to travel to various countries.
Zimmer currently prepares to leave for Kazhikstan on June 18 as a part of the American Corners Program, which strives to teach high school students about the college application project. Zimmer will also meet with foreign dignitaries and learn more about the country of Kazhikstan during his month in the program.
Johnson prepares to travel toMozambiqueinSouthern Africa, and will take part in an English language learning program.
“The [ROTC] program at Hood has doubled in the past semester… there are a lot of opportunities [with ROTC]; you just have to seek them out,” Johson said.
Burgess looks forward to going toSavanna,Georgiathis summer as a part of the Cadet Professional Development Training program. InGeorgia, Burgess will serve under chief engineers to manage a project.
“I’m extremely happy about this, because [people in ROTC] often cannot have an internship due to ROTC obligations,” Burgess said.
“This is a great chance for cadets in ROTC to see what they would like to do in the future.,” she continued. “Personally, I hope to have the opportunity to work on an environmental service project while inGeorgia.
“It’s also nice that I can translate what I do this summer into a civilian job,” Burgess added.
All three students express gratitude towards the opportunities and community ROTC offers.
“I wanted to join ROTC because I thought it was a great opportunity,” Johnson said. “I wanted to go to college and I’ve always wanted to join the army ever since I was little, because I’m fromSouth Koreaand I think thatAmericais my promised land.”
The three leave this summer for their programs, and all say that they are “excited” about the upcoming experience.
“For ROTC, we represent Hood College, but largely, we are also representing the army…and this program is good to teach people about what the army is about,” Zimmer said.
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