NROTC students receive awards for essay and service
Reaching high ideals is not a new concept for the University of Idaho Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps students, but this fall two UI NROTC students were recognized nationally at an awards ceremony on the UI campus for exemplifying the essence of what it means to be a student leader.
Staff Sgt. Robert Brown received the USS Little Rock Award, a national scholarship awarded for academic and leadership achievement offered by the USS Little Rock Association.
Midshipman Diana Vaught won “Best in Western Region,” for an essay she wrote and submitted to the Naval Historical Foundation’s Vice Admiral Dunn History Essay Competition.
Commander Alex Greig, executive officer and associate professor of naval science at UI and Washington State University, said NROTC demands considerable time and energy from their students and it’s an accomplishment to excel in the program.
“We have 67 students between the University of Idaho and WSU,” Greig said. “Two thirds of our students have scholarships — about 65 percent. All of these students want to become Navy or Marine commanding officers, and we offer a substantial reward of having a job and office immediately after graduation.”
Brown
Brown, a husband and a father of two, served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Marine infantryman and logistician. Brown enlisted in the Marines in January of 2005, after which he graduated boot camp and the Infantry Training Battalion. He led a squad of Marines in Fallujah, Iraq, and worked as a morale welfare and recreational specialist while deployed in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan.
A major in recreation with a minor in outdoor recreation, Brown maintains a 4.0 cumulative GPA and serves as platoon commander of his NROTC unit.
Brown said he discovered the intrinsic rewards of helping others, and the leadership and care for others is manifested in his involvement at UI in various programs that support wounded warriors and combat veterans.
“In a lot of ways, Staff Sgt. Brown is a model Marine, he has that discipline and bearing,” Greig said. “But he has a big heart, and he really cares about people. This summer he spent a lot of time with a veteran outdoor program, and all of his work with those programs is volunteered.”
Last year, Brown spent a week guiding and accompanying veterans for outdoor activities for the Warriors and Quiet Waters Foundation in Bozeman, Montana. Now, Brown works with Marines of the Palouse and the Idaho Heroes outdoor program.
“My baseline of being involved in these programs is an ongoing interest in building citizenship and making a good community,” Brown said. “Because of my experiences, working with veterans is a niche that I can fit into.”
Greig said Brown’s achievement marks the sixth time the USS Little Rock Award has been awarded to a UI battalion member. Brown said he’s humbled to have received the scholarship and become an honorary member of the USS Little Rock Association.
“I just feel blessed and honored to be exactly where I am and doing exactly what I’m doing,” Brown said.
Vaught
Vaught, the second nationally recognized UI NROTC member, is quickly making a name for herself, according to Greig.
“Midshipman Vaught is very upbeat, enthusiastic, and always volunteering,” Greig said. “She is always pitching in and doing more than everyone else.”
Vaught and her classmates submitted essays for a sea power and maritime affairs course in the spring semester of 2014, which were submitted to the Naval Historical Foundation’s Vice Admiral Dunn History Essay Competition. Out of the 18 colleges in the NROTC Western Region, including universities such as Stanford, UC Berkeley and UCLA, Vaught’s essay on the implementation of Sir Julian Corbett’s values and strategies was recognized as the most exemplary. Vaught said receiving the honor was shocking, yet rewarding.
“It felt really good, like, ‘Wow, all that hard work really paid off,'” Vaught said. “But mostly, I was just shocked.”
Along with the title and a $500 cash award, Vaught received four other awards recognizing her performance in her unit. As the only female in the sophomore NROTC class, Vaught said being involved in NROTC builds character.
“It’s helping me to be a better student and a better person in general,” Vaught said. “Also, writing this essay definitely tied up all these ropes about what the future of the Navy will be and what it was, how the past has and will affect what will happen in the future. It still applies to what we are doing today, and it put perspective on what I’ll be doing.”
Vaught studies biology at UI and plans to continue making the most out of her experience in NROTC. Vaught said her motivation doesn’t come from a role model, but from an innate desire to better herself.
“For me, it’s definitely just trying to be a better person,” Vaught said. “I just want to live to my full potential and want to make the best of the one life that I have.”
Cara Pantone can be reached at [email protected].