Whos that girl in uniform

Whos that girl in uniform C/3C Rachel Williams 12 My name is Rachel Williams, and I work hard. People on campus might know me as Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors or as TA number 2 (the one with music on Fridays). Some of you prefrosh might know me if you went on a campus tour and remember Rachel. I was the one who made you promise not to let her fall down the stairs (since it actually is possible to be a complete klutz and a varsity fencer). However, Im probably best remembered as that girl in uniform every Tuesday, Cadet (Rachel) Williams. Im an MIT student first (yeah course 16!), but being an AFROTC cadet comes in a close second in my life, because out of everything I do, it means the most to my future. I want to be a fighter pilot in the US Air Force, hopefully going on to be an astronaut on the next generation of space vehicles. As much as I love grading problem sets for 8.02 (I What is Field Training? Well, its a program that all potential Air Force officers must go through before they can commission into the military. Its essentially AFROTCs version of basic training and we get ranked against all the other cadets in the country. For those of us who want one of the few pilot slots, its a big deal. As such, a large chunk of my time this semester has been spent preparing for Field Training. Being a sophomore, this is our first chance to take charge and set the example for the rest of the detachment. This involves anything from leading Group Leadership Problems (GLPs) to organizing the workout at morning Physical Training (PT). All the while, were still p-setting, playing sports, performing, building igloos, and programming robots just like normal MIT students. I often get asked (mostly by my hallmates who pretty much only see me for dinner) how I do it all. The answer is a combination of personal drive and great friends. I know what I want to do with my life, and I am working hard to get there. However, it takes people like my fellow Air Force cadets and course 16ers to provide that extra bit of motivation Thursday nights when the Unified PSet still isnt done and we have several deadlines to meet for that Saturday Field Training Evaluation session. If theres one thing you learn in the military its that you cannot complete the mission alone. In fact, some of the best friends I have here I met through ROTC. When all of you prefrosh get to campus next year (or the year after!) I will have graduated Field Training and will be competing for a pilot slot. Ill still be tour guiding, fencingmaybe TAing and Ill still be that girl in uniform every Tuesday. Ill be that much closer to being an Air Force fighter pilot and accomplished one of the greatest milestones Ive had to deal with so far. So say Hi, the camouflage only looks intimidating. =) Post Tagged #ROTC