Campus Photo: AIMEE BLODGETT | USF
AFROTC
USF pilots military exchange For Cadet 2nd Class Matthew Sprague, life at the U.S. Air Force Academy was predictable: Breakfast in uniform at 6:50 a.m. daily, class from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., intramural sports, dinner, military training, study time and taps. But all that changed in the spring when Sprague, an aspiring pilot candidate from Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, took part in a groundbreaking Air Force ROTC exchange program that put competitively selected cadets in a U.S. civilian university for one semester. USF was one of only three universities nationwide – including Arizona State University in Tempe and the University of Texas-San Antonio – selected to participate in the first-of-its-kind exchange. For four months, Sprague, chosen from a pool of more than 1,000 junior academy cadets, was a student in the Muma College of Business, where he earned a 4.0 GPA. The exchange program was conceived by the academy last year as part of an effort to enhance its officer development experience. “The Air Force Academy is a fouryear degree program, but it is a very different experience than a traditional university program,” explains USF Air Force ROTC Commander Col. Jim Cardoso, an academy alumnus who coordinated the exchange for USF. “The exchange allows for cross-flow of information. It is a broadening experience.” Sprague, who was raised in a family where every generation has served in the military since the Civil War, says the experience was life-changing.
16 UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
< USAFA CADET 2ND CLASS MATTHEW SPRAGUE SPENT ONE SEMESTER IN THE MUMA COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, WHERE HE EARNED A 4.0.
n USF WAS ONE
OF ONLY THREE UNIVERSITIES NATIONWIDE SELECTED FOR THE GROUNDBREAKING EXCHANGE.
“My first class had 400 students, but that seems natural now,” he says, despite coming from a program where the average class has less than 30 students. “The students offer so many different perspectives.” And unlike his life at the Air Force Academy, where a rigorous schedule and strict rules of conduct are a way of life, his university experience offered flexibility and the opportunity to chart his own course. “You have a lot more choices to make. No one is telling you not to skip class or to come back to your room every night,” says the 21-year-old. “You learn to make your own life decisions.” At USF, Sprague led a group of 20 ROTC cadets – introducing the younger cadets to military training and the military lifestyle.
“The whole experience exceeded my expectations. It was one of the most influential semesters I’ve had,” says Sprague, who returns to the Academy this fall as vice commander for the Cadet Wing. “I learned a lot about myself as a person and a leader. I am definitely going back as an improved leader.” This fall, the groundbreaking program expands to include a reverse exchange. While USF hosts Academy Cadet Bjorn Nielsen, a political science major, USF AFROTC Cadet Aaron Galang will attend the academy as one of six AFROTC cadets nationwide selected for the experience. “The experience has given me credibility; I’ve seen the other side,” says Sprague, adding, “In one semester, I made friends for life.”
– ANN CARNEY | USF
n THIS FALL,
USF WILL HOST A SECOND USAFA CADET, AND THE ACADEMY WILL HOST A USF AFROTC CADET.
n ”IT WAS ONE
OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SEMESTERS I’VE HAD,” SAYS SPRAGUE.