Signature Profile Series Volume 3: Corps Leader

CORPS LEADER SIGNATURE PROFILE SERIES VOLUME 3:

AIR FORCE HAS OFFERED FRESCH FULL RIDE TO MEDICAL SCHOOL

Caroline Fresch ’19 had been part of ROTC for so long that it seemed weird for her to go to school without wearing a uniform once a week. So when she came to Mary Baldwin University, she knew that she wanted to join the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL), the nation’s only all-women cadet corps.

Caroline Fresch ’19 had been part of ROTC for so long, that it seemed weird for her to go to school without wearing a uniform once a week. So when she came to Mary Baldwin University, she knew that she wanted to join the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL), the nation’s only all-women cadet corps. “Going into VWIL, I thought it would just be like any other military college,” said Fresch. “But I think the thing to note about it is why I stayed — because it presents a lot of opportunities you don’t get as a traditional student. As a living-learning community, we’re providing experiences that you can apply to your day-to-day life and larger decisions.” Fresch’s family has a long history of attending Penn State. But since the school has a larger population than any town she’s ever lived in, Fresch wanted to go somewhere with a small-town feel, like where she grew up in Charles Town, West Virginia. Mary Baldwin has provided her with that environment, as well as the leadership and service opportunities she finds so important to her selfdevelopment. Fresch recently studied abroad in Grenoble, France, is a class of 2019 student marshal, and works as an administrative assistant to VWIL Commandant Brig. Gen. Teresa Djuric.

As first captain of VWIL, Fresch is the organization’s highest-ranking cadet. Under her direction, the corps now offers the chance to shadow members of the cadet staff and provides mentors to all its first-year students. All of this programming stems from her personal leadership philosophy: you can’t consider yourself a good leader unless

you leave behind a better one than yourself.

That attitude also manifests itself outside of VWIL. Fresch is the founding president of the MBU branch of Net Impact, a community service organization with an environmental focus, and she spends much of her time guiding other officers, so the group can carry out its mission after she leaves. Fresch also serves as a mentor in multiple STEM fields through Mary Baldwin’s Subject Tutoring Program.

“I love science,” she said. “All other fields can’t exist without the study of what we are. But even in college, you find students who shy away from taking science classes. If we consider what it means to be a knowledgeable person, you can’t take science out of the equation. And I love teaching. My mom is a teacher, so it’s in my blood to help people come to an understanding of something.”

Growing up, she was always interested in healing. When she was younger, Fresch wanted to go into psychiatry before considering nursing and becoming a physician assistant. Now she wants to be a doctor in the U.S. Air Force and feels prepared thanks to her experiences at MBU. After earning a biology degree and chemistry minor, Fresch plans to attend medical school, with a full-ride provided by the Air Force Health Professions Scholarship.

“Mary Baldwin is going to teach you what you need for your degree,” said Fresch. “But it also provides so many other opportunities. A leader is not a static person, and I see personal development as a measure of success. Baldwin provides that.”