Major: Welding Engineering
Hometown: Fairview Park, Ohio
Year: Sophomore
Every Thursday here at OSU, the men and women of all ROTC military branches can be identified by their uniforms. They walk proudly; chins held high and stepping in time. Sometimes, we wonder and find it difficult to understand why they partake in such an intense regimen, and how they handle all of the pressure from knowing that they are our country’s future fighters. For Matt Loney, a sophomore who is in his second year in the ROTC program, it is all about wanting to better himself as a person and developing the feeling of self pride and satisfaction. Living everyday by the moral codes that his army training has given him, Matt plans to continue developing his inner strength through enlistment. Every day is an accomplishment, for not only does he survive p.t. training, but he also balances the life of an off-campus student with the workload of an aspiring engineer. Exemplifying personal vigor and motivation, it is apparent that Matt will be an excellent addition to the United State Army.
HC: What activities are you involved with here at OSU?
Matt: I am an Army ROTC cadet and work in Baker Systems. I don’t find myself with free time for much else after class.
HC: What inspired you to join the ROTC program here on campus?
Matt: I felt the desire to serve and to challenge myself. I had that feeling all first quarter of freshman year before I joined that I wasn’t doing as much as I could.
HC: What are the best and worst aspects of being a ROTC cadet?
Matt: Physical training is great if you’re used to playing sports in high school and ROTC is a good way to transition into army life when coming from a relatively sheltered college student perspective. They also teach important managerial skills. However, it is a very big time commitment. It is comparable to playing a varsity sport in terms of time spent training and traveling, plus the duty commitment once you commission.
HC: How do you like living off-campus? What advice would give students living off campus next year, as far as what they should look out for?
Matt: You’re one step closer to the real world when you live off-campus. Cooking your own food is can be pretty fun when you have the time. You get more of your own space and freedom than on campus, but you also have to deal with shady landlords and homeless people pushing their rattling shopping carts past your window at 3 AM.
HC: What are your post-graduation aspirations?
Matt: Commission as an officer in the US Army, see the world, and start a civilian career as an engineer.
HC: How do you handle time management what with ROTC, a major in engineering and the random hassles of living off-campus?
Matt: Lots of sleepless nights.
HC: What is an interest of yours that most people would not expect you to have?
Matt: I like playing chess. I guess that’s not too unusual though. I don’t know, I have a rabbit, he’s pretty interesting. He thinks he’s a cat.
HC: What is a day in ROTC like?
Matt: Usually you wake up before your roommates, go to the day’s training whether its leadership or physical, and then go to class all sweaty and still in uniform. It’s pretty baller.
HC: What advice would you give to students who find themselves in a difficult class?
Matt: Find other people in the same class to work with; it makes things so much more bearable. Sometimes to make it through the day you just have to find a way to make really boring subjects interesting.
HC: What would your dream day consist of?
Matt: Working out, Katy Perry, meeting Billy Mays’ ghost, grilling, more Katy Perry, controlled demolitions, and American micro-brews, in no particular order. Also, in my dream day chemistry labs would be graded based on attendance.
HC: What is one thing every buckeye should learn while attending school?
Matt: Network, network, network, network, network, network!
