Renée LaMarche ’18 History major from Lynnfield, MA. Battalion Operations Officer, Army ROTC Between running from history seminars to ROTC trainings, Renée is quick to note that no two days are ever the same. Outside of her involvement in the Tufts University Social Collective (TUSC), as a leader for her sorority’s executive board, and as a student employee for the athletic department, Renée also holds a major leadership role within the ROTC community. This year, as one of the top cadets, she was hand-picked to lead the group as the Battalion Operations Officer. In this role, she is in charge of planning and coordinating all of the training for the rest of the cadets. As a transfer student, Renée had to catch up faster than a typical cadet, but she is thankful to the ROTC community for giving her confidence to overcome challenges. She said ROTC has afforded her the opportunity to interact with some of the brightest minds in the country. Want to know more? Feel free to contact any of our ROTC branches: AIR FORCE afrotc@mit.edu NAVY wielgus@mit.edu ARMY smcd@mit.edu
Ryan Friedman ’19 Electrical engineering major from San Diego, CA. Air Force ROTC
“ROTC HAS AFFORDED ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT WITH SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST MINDS IN THE COUNTRY.”
While engineering and physical training may seem like they have nothing in common, Ryan believes there is a lot of overlap between his work in the classroom and ROTC training. Ryan said: “The biggest overlap between engineering and ROTC doesn’t lie so much in the content, but rather in the process. The problem-identifying and solving mentality that I have learned through my classes has helped me in many aspects of ROTC. At the same time, the very practical, hands-on, and leadership-oriented ROTC training has greatly benefited my academics.” In addition to balancing his training with his electrical engineering (and foreign language!) courses, Ryan serves as an Academic and Community Engagement (ACE) Fellow and a member of the Tufts Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services (ALLIES). After graduation, Ryan will serve in the Air Force, but he is eager to put the specific skills that he has learned at Tufts to use. He hopes to do intelligence work that combines his technical skills with foreign language, and eventually become a Regional Affairs Strategist. *Want to know more about being an ACE fellow? Check out page 7.