Transitioning to Excellence
The first year in the Air Force ROTC (AFROTC) program invites cadets to evaluate and redirect their lives toward excellence. Cadet experiences include high school students who knew from the beginning that they wanted to be in AFROTC, as well as college sophomores that decided halfway through their sophomore year to join AFROTC. Regardless of how cadets enter AFROTC, everyone is on the same team together, preparing to become Air Force officers.
Support from Ohio State
For freshmen, Ohio State has its own First Year Experience program, designed to ease the transition of the entire freshman class from high school into university life. First Year Experience is a series of presentations, events and supportive groups that helps students build a positive community within the larger university.
Cadet Experiences
“Starting the very first day of ROTC training at PT, I hit the ground running and haven't stopped. Not only have my superiors and my peers pushed me both mentally and physically, but I have been able to find the motivation to constantly push myself. This drive towards expanding my limits has enabled me to develop tremendously as a cadet, a student, and a person. I can say with integrity that I came into the program as a scared and timid freshman, and I'm ending the year as a confident, strong cadet. With the Air Force motto "Excellence in All We Do" at the forefront of my mind, I can honestly say the AFROTC program at The Ohio State University has driven me to excel as a Buckeye, a cadet and a civil servant to the United States of America.”
—Cadet Payton Hanson, Class of 2019
“Within one year of being a GMC within Ohio State’s ROTC program, the amount of knowledge gained has been overwhelming, but not in the stereotypical negative sense. While it’s true that cadets have had to learn basic Air Force knowledge and how to perform drill, we’ve also learned quite a bit more. We’ve learned the necessity of leadership, and how a unit will collapse without it. We’ve learned the importance of collaboration and unity, and we’ve been instilled with the trust in our fellow cadets with the knowledge that they will always be by our side. There’s something different about ROTC life that is rather difficult to explain. It’s less of an organization, and more of a family. If my first year in this program has taught me anything, it’s that the bond between Airmen is unbreakable, and that nothing can change that.”
—Cadet Jalen Soat, Class of 2019
“As an AS100, I was thrown into a completely new environment and had to adapt to the lifestyle that came with it. If there is one thing I have learned, which I consider the most necessary aspect for success in the United States Air Force, it is “wingmanship.” The members of Detachment 645, from AS100 to colonel, care for each other like immediate family. There is nothing like knowing that you have over 100 Airmen there to support you through the joys and struggles that come with balancing school and AFROTC. In just my AS100 year, I have gained a family that I can count on and I cannot wait to see our family extend this fall.”
—Cadet Madison King, Class of 2019