In honor of Veteran�s Day, which occurred on Monday, the CU Independent talked to a student that hopes to serve after graduation.
Dean Rogers is an 18-year-old freshman and a fourth class midshipmen in CU�s Naval Reserve Officers� Training Corps, or ROTC.
�It�s been my dream to become a pilot in the navy,� Rogers said. �I got that idea from my grandpa, who I look up to. He was a naval pilot in the 1970s and now he flies for an airline. I was really inspired by him, and made that my choice of what I also want to do with my life.�
Every Wednesday, Rogers wakes up at 5 a.m. to ride his bike from William�s Village to Folsom Stadium for personal training at 6.
�The thing about the military is that you always have to be early, which means showing up at 5:30 a.m. for a 6 a.m. meeting,� Rogers said.
Personal training typically includes core workouts like push-ups and pull-ups, and a lot of running.
After training, Rogers goes back to his dorm to get ready for the day. He has classes until 3 p.m. and then attends a mandatory ROTC study hall from 6 to 8:15 p.m.
�[The officers] take it upon themselves to make sure you attend this in order to get your work done,� Rogers said. �Instead of waking up at 5 in the morning and you�re just tired the whole day and you�re ready to go to sleep, it�s like nope, you also have to get your homework done.�
Rogers is grateful for the program and the officers who are in charge of it, because it has reinforced his drive to become a navy pilot.
�My relationships with the active duty officers have been really inspiring because you�re able to experience real gentlemen who have gone through a lot with the war,� Rogers said. �There�s been Marines that I have talked to that have gone out to Iraq and you can see how they�re affected by it and how it�s made some of them stronger people, but others you can tell its affected them negatively. It�s been very encouraging to be around people who have done what you want to do.�
Last Friday, Rogers and the other students in the program did a Missing in Action and Prisoners of War run to the Boulder Cemetery to commemorate fallen soldiers. They were given miniature flags, which they placed on top of the veteran�s graves.
�It was a day to really honor our veterans and soldiers who risk their lives for the country, who don�t receive as much acknowledgement,� he said.
ROTC students are obligated to at least three years of active duty after they graduate, and Rogers is looking forward to serving.
�Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alexandria Aguerre at Alexandra.aguerre@colorado.edu.