Finding balance in college is hard enough for most students, especially as you add more activities into your busy schedule like jobs, clubs, research, or anything in between. Lexie Jackson, a freshman here at UW, somehow manages to balance life as a STEM major, being in ROTC, and finding time to be involved in her sorority.
She joined ROTC for several reasons. “The fact that they’re giving me a scholarship is helpful for college, and a big thing for me is the stability. It just freaks me out! I definitely think that it’s a lot of camaraderie balanced with a lot of stability.”
Despite the benefits, being in ROTC also has its challenges. Lexie says the hardest part is “the exercise! The exercise, one hundred percent. It’s not something I was doing a lot in high school so just changing to a lifestyle where that’s just built into your day is challenging.” Training starts early in the morning and all members are required to take a 3-credit military science course each quarter. Most people in ROTC are also taking 18-credit course loads, including STEM classes. When talking about this schedule, she went on to say that “when people say something is militaristic, there’s a reason. It’s very rigid. Once you learn those things it’s very simple and it makes life so much easier because everyone knows what’s happening, but learning it is a challenge.”
Her advice for anyone balancing multiple commitments or looking to join ROTC is to use a planner. “I love my planner. I think that it helps on a superficial level. I think deeper than that, knowing what your priorities are and having people from each group that understand that.” While people may understand her priorities, she emphasized that no one else truly is going to understand her position and decision making. Sometimes she has to make adjustments and make sacrifices to maintain balance between her commitments. Lexie said, “I know the three biggest things in my life are academics, ROTC, and sorority, and I know the priority of each of those things so I stick with that.”
One of the biggest things Lexie has learned is “that code switching is a real thing because I’ve definitely seen how you are just a different person around different people. I definitely think that you guys know me as one person and yet all of my ROTC people know me as a different person, and it’s very blatant.” Despite this difference, it is clear to me that Lexie is able to balance so much on her plate. She never fails to work hard while inspiring and uplifting the people around her.