Hopkins ROTC numbers increase 56 percent from last year
"We have a whole lot more people," junior cadet Andrew Garcia said. "In an organization this big it's harder to control everyone and make sure they know what they need to know. It's been hard on the senior class." He added that sometimes students who join their freshman year do not always choose to commit to the program afterwards, so the student leaders have a continuous focus on "retention and excellence."
Sophomore Michael Garcia also acknowledged that classes were noticeably bigger, but remained optimistic. "I don't think it'll affect [the program] in a negative way. It's just a different style."
UMBC's newly-obtained ROTC building also ensures that the program still has plenty of room to grow. According to Bushyager, "We're operating at about one fourth of our capacity right now." Bushyager predicts that the program will grow to 200 recruits over the next three years.
As national ROTC enrollment continues to drop, Bushyager attributed the current and projected growth in the Blue Jay Battalion mostly to the efforts of the cadets themselves.
"The best recruiters are students," he said. "Probably about 20 percent of the freshman who joined were referred by other students. I'd say 25 to 35 percent of the entire program were referred."
Referrals can come in the form of friends, acquaintances, teammates, and even family members.
"A lot of cadets are friends or roommates or younger brothers of other cadets," Major Heather Levy, Executive officer of the Blue Jay Battalion, pointed out.
Bushyager described another instance where "we had a varsity guy bring in seven of his [teammates] one day who he thought might be interested in the program, and it turns out six of the seven were."
Just as the cadre gave credit to the cadets for the recent increase, the cadets suggest that the cadre's influence may have contributed to the increase in enrollment.
"There's been a change in the chain of command, with a new recruitment officer [Bushyager] and military science professor [Pomper]," junior cadet Andrew Garcia explained, though sophomore cadet Michael Garcia pointed out that the new cadre have not instituted any major changes to the program.
The cadets themselves give various reasons for choosing to enroll in the program.
"I wanted to do something," sophomore cadet Michael Lee said. "Everyone does something for their country, whether it be voting or getting involved in the community. My way of doing something is to serve."
Scholarships certainly provide incentive for some, but this isn't the only motive: "I can't say I did it for the money. I did it for the experience," senior cadet Sean Ashby said.
The same was true of freshman cadet John Kelly. "Part of it was tuition, but mostly it was because I wanted to serve," he said.
Sophomore Michael Garcia also acknowledged that classes were noticeably bigger, but remained optimistic. "I don't think it'll affect [the program] in a negative way. It's just a different style."
UMBC's newly-obtained ROTC building also ensures that the program still has plenty of room to grow. According to Bushyager, "We're operating at about one fourth of our capacity right now." Bushyager predicts that the program will grow to 200 recruits over the next three years.
As national ROTC enrollment continues to drop, Bushyager attributed the current and projected growth in the Blue Jay Battalion mostly to the efforts of the cadets themselves.
"The best recruiters are students," he said. "Probably about 20 percent of the freshman who joined were referred by other students. I'd say 25 to 35 percent of the entire program were referred."
Referrals can come in the form of friends, acquaintances, teammates, and even family members.
"A lot of cadets are friends or roommates or younger brothers of other cadets," Major Heather Levy, Executive officer of the Blue Jay Battalion, pointed out.
Bushyager described another instance where "we had a varsity guy bring in seven of his [teammates] one day who he thought might be interested in the program, and it turns out six of the seven were."
Just as the cadre gave credit to the cadets for the recent increase, the cadets suggest that the cadre's influence may have contributed to the increase in enrollment.
"There's been a change in the chain of command, with a new recruitment officer [Bushyager] and military science professor [Pomper]," junior cadet Andrew Garcia explained, though sophomore cadet Michael Garcia pointed out that the new cadre have not instituted any major changes to the program.
The cadets themselves give various reasons for choosing to enroll in the program.
"I wanted to do something," sophomore cadet Michael Lee said. "Everyone does something for their country, whether it be voting or getting involved in the community. My way of doing something is to serve."
Scholarships certainly provide incentive for some, but this isn't the only motive: "I can't say I did it for the money. I did it for the experience," senior cadet Sean Ashby said.
The same was true of freshman cadet John Kelly. "Part of it was tuition, but mostly it was because I wanted to serve," he said.
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