Collegiate Times

Corps center

"We've been holding at about 250, 252 for the past three or four years. This year we have 293," Stringer said. "I think the best explanation for the increase is being a lot more aggressive on the recruiting program. We have a recruiter for the first time, an experienced recruiter, and that aggressive recruiting plus a lot more involvement from corps alumni has really helped."

Many students who are involved in the corps can choose what is called the "civilian track," which entails being a member of the corps, but not the ROTC, and they will not commission after graduation. These students will still hold a minor in leadership and have access to the opportunities offered through the corps' alumni connections. 

Scholarships awarded to members of the ROTC, those who are choosing to enter into military service as commissioned officers after graduation, are given through their chosen branch of the military. 

"I was awarded a Marine Corps scholarship and was assigned to my top choice, Virginia Tech," Schnitker said. "You give them your top five choices and I just happened to get my top choice."

No ROTC scholarships are awarded through Tech. Most of the scholarships received by members of the corps only cover tuition. The only exception to this is the Army program, which often gives full scholarships that include room and board.

"The cadets are given a monthly stipend of $200," Mariger said. "The stipend increases by $50 each year, and so by the time they graduate they have made a fair amount of money."

The civilian corps program, however, does award scholarships to the cadets in the track.

"Cadets in the corps are given the opportunity to win an emerging leader scholarship which awards $2,000 for in-state students and $3,000 for out-of-state students," said Lt. Col. Gary Jackson, associate director of undergraduate admissions for the corps. 

In these uncertain economic times, students are looking for a guaranteed job - a light at the end of the tunnel after college - and military service is quickly becoming a viable option.

Maj. Jimmy Wiley is just one cadet who has chosen a lifelong career in the military. He is currently a student at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. 

"It is nice knowing that you have a career after you graduate," Wiley, a '97 graduate of the corps, said. "But it is also a career that teaches you great leadership skills and can prepare you for leadership roles in the civilian world if you choose not to make it a lifelong career."

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