By Taylor Tait
Students at UC Santa Barbara often complain about early 8 a.m. classes. But Jennali Reyes and others in the UCSB Surfrider Battalion ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) often begin their class day as early as 6 a.m.
“It gets easier,” says Reyes, a fourth-year cadet who is majoring in Linguistics.
For the past four years, Reyes has risen at dawn three times a week to attend her physical training class— a mandatory course for all students in the ROTC program. In a recent interview, she said her journey through the Surfrider Battalion over the years has been one of self-discovery and personal growth.
Linguistics student Jennali Reyes is a fourth-year cadet in the UCSB Surfrider Battalion ROTC.
On days when she doesn’t have physical training, Reyes, a 22-year-old from Wildomar, California, adds officer training, leadership labs, and committee planning to her weekly agenda. What makes UCSB’s ROTC program innovative, she notes, is that it is student-run. “It’s an entirely cadet-run program,” Reyes said.
This means upper-class cadets plan and execute all activities for the entire program of nearly 100 students. Fourth-year cadets are in charge of structuring and supervising the entire year —from mentorship outings to combat drills to cadet progress assessments. “It’s a new definition of team building.”
In addition to the program’s coursework, which includes military history, leadership skills, and more, Reyes splits her time between running her ROTC alumni committee and attending to her three mentees. She has been working to connect with Surfrider Battalion alumni, hosting game nights and keeping tabs on the hundreds of graduated cadets who have since dispersed across the world.
This spring, Reyes plans to put on the first speaker panel for alumni to share their experiences. “Since our cadres [ROTC advisors] are on active duty, we don’t really hear much about the other paths,” she says. It’s a chance to hear about the different routes cadets have taken after graduation, whether it be entering the National Guard, reserves, academia, or some other “civilian” paths. Reyes says running the alumni committee has also allowed her to explore her own career options.
Even on weekends, the work of a fourth-year cadet is never done. This past fall, the Surfrider Battalion to Fort Hunter in Liggett, California for an annual weekend field training exercise. The trip included a day of land navigation, sleeping in the elements, obstacle courses, weapons handling, and more. This time, it was Reyes’ responsibility to ensure the weekend went smoothly.
While the pressure was high, Reyes says the experience of leadership in the program “shaped me as a person to be more disciplined.” And it has given her a plan for what to do after graduating. She hopes to enlist in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps and become an audiologist, or apply her linguistics degree to the military intelligence branch as a translator.
“It’s been so rewarding; the respect that comes with serving, the help with school financially, and the career opportunity,” she said. Starting the day at dawn isn’t so terrible when she considers the big picture life benefits it brings. Still, Reyes admits that after graduation, “on the weekends, I’ll be sleeping in.”
Taylor Tait is a fourth-year sociology and geography double major at UC Santa Barbara. She wrote this profile for her Writing Program class, Digital Journalism.