Deployments all around the world vigorous exercise routines, and well-disciplined boot camps may be unappealing for some, but others like senior Holly Anderson see that lifestyle as a part of their future. For Anderson, military life is a chance to build discipline while living away from home.

Students planning for military service have numerous routes, whether as a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), a student at a military academy, or straight into the military, according to goarmy.com. ROTC members will join the military branch of their respective ROTC programs, including options such as Air Force, Navy, Army, and Space Force. The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) offers competitive college scholarships for students and commissions them to the Navy after graduation, according to netc.navy.mil, the U.S. Navy’s website. Anderson, a recipient of the NROTC scholarship, will have her college paid for by the program while also providing her a spot in the Navy after college, Anderson explained.

“It will bring more responsibility, which is good for me because I rely on discipline to live my life,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s scholarship with the NROTC will train her to become a naval nurse during her required five-year enlistment period, providing her a path to become a travel nurse, Anderson explained. And though she is unsure whether or not she will stay with the military after her
enlistment period is finished, Anderson sees nursing as a chance to serve the people around her, Anderson said.

“I love the idea of helping people, it brings me a lot of joy, and nursing would add onto that,” Anderson said. “Nursing will bring my life a lot of meaning.”

South alumni Allison Gustilo, who graduated in 2024, joined the U.S. Air Force directly out of high school after receiving an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy. As a cadet, Gustilo balances academics, military training with field exercise and mission-focused training, and athletics, Gustilo said. Gustilo followed a similar passion to Anderson’s, joining the military to follow her dreams in medicine.

“I’ve always wanted to become a physician, and the idea of caring for those who protect our nation and their families felt
like one of the most meaningful ways I could use my abilities,” Gustilo said. “It’s not just practicing medicine, it’s taking care of the people who take care of all of us.”

Gustilo finds the Academy challenging because of the rigor of the academics, especially with trying to get a Bachelors of Science Degree, and the physical fitness demands. Two mandatory athletic tests called the Physical Fitness Test which consists of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, long jump, and a 600-meter sprint as well as the Army Fitness Test consisting of atimed one and a half mile run have proved extra difficult, Gustilo said. But even though there have been many challenges, the relationships that have been built at the Academy have been a major reward, Gustilo added.

“The people are what help make the Academy worth it,” Gustilo said. “The environment is built on teamwork and a shared struggle, so the bonds you form are very strong. Knowing that we’re all pushing each other toward a common purpose has been incredibley rewarding.”

Junior Noah Parker sees attending a military academy as a step to future service. Military academies, or federal service academies, are federally-supported institutions where students don’t pay tuition but are required to serve after they graduate, according to the U.S News and World Report.

Parker has a family history of military service, including his uncle, several close family friends, and an Army veteran father, who served mainly in East Africa during the 1990s and 2000s, Parker said. Parker’s family supports his plans to at-
tend a military academy and later enlist. Even with service being commonplace in his family, Parker never felt pressured to join the military; his motivation for joining is a personal draw to service, Parker said.

“I like leading and being part of a team, and I feel that the military would give me a purpose bigger than myself,” Parker said.