Northeastern States ROTC Program expands to Tulsa Area
By NSU Staff Writer Dustin Woods
The Northeastern State University Reserve Officer Training Corps is expanding to the NSU-Broken Arrow campus to offer the areas only Senior ROTC program. Major Jason Junkens, Director of NSU-ROTC has worked to make this expansion to Broken Arrow a reality since starting with the program in 2003.
It couldn't have come at a better time with the NSU/Tulsa Community College Smart Choice option in the Tulsa area, said Junkens. We will offer our entire program from freshman to senior level classes and currently are working to be able to offer three and four-year scholarships.
Freshman and sophomore level ROTC classes will be offered to TCC students as a part of the new joint venture between the institutions. Currently, there is no senior ROTC program offered in the Tulsa Metro area, and Junkens is anticipating the possibilities that will come with the expansion.
In the past few years I have lost potential students because we don't have ROTC in the Tulsa area, and right now I have some waiting for us to move there to take advantage of this expansion.
Junkens has worked closely with veteran Jack Williams, TCC assistant professor of Accounting, to make the new expansion a reality.
We had talked about forming a student organization for veterans, ROTC, reservists and active duty personnel, and in the process I became the faculty advisor for both the new organization and the TCC-ROTC students, said Williams.
Students will be able to enter the ROTC program as TCC freshmen and take classes at the TCC sub-campus located at NSU-BA in the Spring of 2010, and then transfer seamlessly into NSU as juniors. Also available to the students will be a new student organization designed to emphasize military-helping-military and community service, Williams said.
Think of it as a club for veterans-past, present and future, he said. The group will give military students and their families the opportunity to network with others and to organize support services for veterans in the community.
A search revealed over 700 students at TCC that self-identified as veterans, reservists or active members of the U.S. armed forces, but officials believe there are many more that could benefit from the areas new ROTC presence.
The new post-911 G.I. bill includes many benefits to the spouses and children of veterans, many of whom may not be aware they qualify. There could be many more people out there with a direct interest than we've not yet identified, Williams said.
Available scholarships are a part of the allure of the ROTC option for many students, and Junkens said that some scholarships are substantial for those wishing to enter the service as officers.
The expansion of ROTC to NSU-BA should provide a substantial new inlet for students from the Tulsa area into the university.
8/13/2009
Published: 2009-08-13 00:00:00
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