The Military's Influence on College Students

New cadets receive their gear during the first week of ROTC

Returning to the UMass Amherst ROTC Building on a cold February Tuesday with a rucksack on his back, UMass Sophomore George McCormick was in good spirits. He had just completed a 3-mile march with a 30lb pack. This concept may seem crazy, carrying around all that weight for such a long distance, but to McCormick, it helps pay for school.

McCormick is one of the estimated 30,000 ROTC cadets in more than 1,400 universities across the country who are taking advantage of military benefits and working his way through college in exchange for service. With ROTC enrollments reaching all-time highs (Army ROTC alone with 36,474 cadets in 2011) and with recruiters meeting and exceeding their enlistment quotas, we see that these educational benefits could play a significant role. 

The Economy: What I learned

I am going to be frank; before the project began, I despised writing or even talking about the economy. To me, I found no interest nor have I found any reason for myself to converse in the state of our economy. 
I had my troubles and my successes, and in many points in time, I wanted to pull my hair out and wanted to throw my computer against a wall. However, once I saw the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” for this project, I have learned a great deal in not only my writing style, but in my knowledge of the economy and its effect on today’s service members.

A Crash Course on Military Benefits

As a part of my ongoing work for my story that deals with military benefits and how much influence do they have on college students, here is a brief informational podcast on what are some popular military benefits.

Click here!

Pfc. DeMarsico's Funeral

Pfc. DeMarsico's Funeral, a set on Flickr.

This past summer I attended the funeral for Pfc. DeMarsico, who was killed in action in Afghanistan. Citizens of North Adams, as well as politicians like Gov. Deval Patrick and Secretary of State John Kerry, were in attendance.