The first semester of his freshman year, senior Tyler Adams began his four-year journey in ROTC.

“I am going up to Fayetteville, and they only have Army and Air Force ROTC, but I would like to go Navy personally. My dad was in it, my mom was in it and her dad was in it, so I would be third generation Navy,” Adams said.

Adams said he plans to be a history major and he wants to go to law school.

He said the social aspect is the best thing about the class right now, and that in the past it was learning to lead.

“There is a lot of options and information given to us through ROTC through the recruiters and through Sarge about the military,” Adams said. “It really opens up a view on the military.”

Besides leadership, Adams said ROTC teaches you how to work with all different types of people.

“It is a good learning experience,” Adams said. “The way the schedule is for the freshman academy, the freshman are separated from the seniors and juniors, so the freshman get to learn from us about high school, because they can learn from the seniors who have been through the four years. It can really help someone plan better.”

Adams said his most cherished memory in ROTC was the moment when he decided that he wanted to be the unit commander.

“It was my freshman year, at our military ball, which is like a prom, but it’s also a dinner and an award ceremony, and it’s a big end of the year thing,” Adams said. “The unit commander, a senior who I really looked up to up until I was his age, I saw him up at the podium talking giving his speech, and I remember saying to myself, ‘That’s who I want to be.’ It was the setting of a goal that I would work for. It was the moment when I locked in on target, you know something to do, something to go for. It’s given me something to drive for, my motivation.”

Adams met his goal and is now a unit commander of ROTC.