Making The Grade

My name is Ryan Cho. I am in the Army National Guard, and my rank is cadet. I currently attend Columbia University in the city of New York. My major is political science, with a focus in American politics. I actually didn't know about the National Guard until I entered college. I didn't know about that reserve option and that allowed me to both attend college and serve in a branch of service in the military and serve the country. The Army National Guard understands that a lot of the new people that enter are going to be younger and are actually attending school 'cause that's one of the benefits of being in the Army National Guard. So i actually enlisted under what's called the Split Option Program. The Split Option Program allows you to attend Basic Training during the summer, and then attend AIT, which is Advanced Individual Training, the next summer. People think that you're not going to have it any time to do anything else, that it's a huge time commitment. I've been able to serve in the Army National Guard and still be able to participate in college life completely. It's just that I have to manage my time a little bit better than most. But they equip you with the tools, making sure that your managing your time, making sure that you divide your day. You know, from eleven to twelve I'm going to do homework, maybe i should do a few pages of that reading when I'm walking to class. Just so you you're making the most of the time. But, I'm also able to have a social life, go out with my friends, hang out, you know go to the movies and all that as well. My commander is really understanding and understands that I'm a college student and that I need to graduate in order to become an Army National Guard officer allowing me to miss a certain drills in order to, you know, study for an exam and then I make those drills up. I think the military is a great option for people looking to serve not only because you are able to contribute back to your country and state, but you're also able to develop yourself personally and get an education, military training and a lot of personal development out of it as well.