Hundreds of the nation's top Army ROTC cadets have made their way to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
They are representing colleges and universities across the country, gathering for the 39th annual George C. Marshall Awards and Leadership seminar.
Tyler Cordry, cadet captain at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says the past two days have been worthwhile.
“We've had opportunities to listen to high-ranking leadership in the Army,” Cordry said. “Then additionally opportunities to connect and network with some of the peers around the country that we could potentially be working with or encountering in our future careers.”
“This is a historical thing that we've always done within the United States Army Cadet command, to bring in our top 300, 400 top cadets who have performed very well to include the United States Military Academy West Point,” United States Army Maj. Gen. Christopher Hughes said. “We bring them here under the umbrella of George C. Marshall, General Marshall is one of the great thinkers, one of the great visionaries, one of the great statesmen that has come through the military through times of between the war years from WWI and WWII.”
Military leaders help prepare the young cadets to become future officers.
“I'm really excited about it,” University of Kansas Cadet Battalion Commander, Steven Galluzi said. “Commissioning an officer is really a great opportunity to finally get to impact people's lives and make a big difference in a large organization.”
Pittsburgh State University Cadet Battalion Commander, Bobby Shires, says leaders have emphasized the importance of good leadership attributes and also leadership competencies.
“It’s not about only us but the soldiers we will lead so this is helping us but also in a way helping soldiers we will lead one day,” Shires said.
Cadets say it’s a chance to hear unique perspectives from some of the nation’s top military leaders.
“It's unparallel what I've learned from leadership from the incredible generals, from the professors who have taught here, just the interpersonal relationships that I've built in the last two days,” United States Military Academy, Aaron Rounds said. “I just feel like I've built much more equipped in the ultimate career in the Army post the college experience.”
“Everyday at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, we are protecting the United States of America by teaching and educating our leaders who are going to run our country in the future,” Maj. Gen. Hughes.
Each of the cadets are recipients of the George C. Marshall award and all 50 states were represented at the 39th annual seminar.
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Rae Daniel can be reached at Rae.Daniel@KSHB.com.
