 "Photo: Courtesy of Maricela Alvarado of UTPA ROTC")
The best and brightest shined at the 33rd annual U.S. Army Cadet Command George C. Marshall ROTC Awards and Leadership Seminar.
The event was held April 13-16 in Lexington, Virg., and honored ROTC Cadet Battalion Commander, Andrew Paulson, 23, with the coveted chance to attend. The event was established to preserve the principles developed by George C. Marshall, a former General of the Army, U.S. Secretary of State during World War II, and Noble Peace Prize winner.
Paulson, who was chosen as the best and brightest member of the ROTC at The University of Texas-Pan American by Professor of Military Science, Lt. Col. Maricela Alvarado, appreciated every minute of his recognition.
“I felt honored to represent our school and our program,” he said.
Paulson’s is part of the Bronc Program Alfa Company, which works in conjunction with the Scorpion Brownsville Troop to form the Bronc Batallion, which has been at the University since 1982. Paulson was considered for recognition out of 75 cadets.
At the seminar, Paulson was granted the special privilege of participating in a round table discussion with some of the most respected Army officials, such as U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. The subject at hand was all things global, including national security, ethics, leadership, global terrorism, and even foreign/military affairs in Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf region, and Africa.
“There were many resourceful, knowledgeable people there, it was very interesting,” Paulson exclaimed.
One of the more interesting parts of the discussion, Paulson recounted, was having the privilege to participate in an exercise that dealt with conflict resolution between platoon leaders and non-commissioned officers. During the session cadets were asked to voice their opinion about solutions to a given scenario and were coached on how to properly resolve conflict.
The event featured a full-dress parade enacted by the VMI Corps of Cadets and offered valuable commentary from respected Army leaders such as Lt. Gen. Benjamin Freakley, commanding general, U.S. Army Accessions Command; Maj. Gen. Art Bartell, commanding general, U.S. Army Cadet Command; Maj. Gen. Douglas Carver, U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains; Brig. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, director, Joint Center for Operational Analysis; and retired Maj. Gen. Robert Wagner, former Cadet Command commander. After listening to the lectures, Paulson was inspired to take his future into his own hands.
“The most important thing that I got out of the seminar is that, the thing that determines your future is you,” he said.
Armed with this mentality, Paulson has recently gained commission and is currently serving as a second lieutenant of the Medical Service Corps. Paulson graduated from UTPAwith a bachelor’s degree in business administration and after this recent honor, he continues to look toward the future.
“In the future I hope to be a platoon leader for the National Guard,” he said
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