BYU's ROTC program not just for men
The military is typically a male-dominated field, but that has not stopped women from positively infiltrating their ranks.
Although seriously outnumbered, three female ROTC cadets expressed the enjoyment found participating in BYU’s ROTC program.
Erika Rubilar, a sophomore from Albany, N.Y., studying wildlife and wildlands conservation, said her brother played a huge role in her joining the military.
“My brother applied into West Point and got in,” Rubilar said. “I saw what he was doing, and it became more real to me and I thought maybe I could do this. I don’t think I want to go to West Point, but I wonder if I could do what they do.”
Sophomore Kirsten Lambson, a media arts major from Columbia, Mo., said she planned on the ROTC since she was a little girl.
“I remember distinctly in fourth grade I heard about the military and I wanted to do that,” Lambson said. “My dad did the ROTC here at BYU, and I’d see his uniform. I was kind of a tomboy and I just liked it.”
Senior Amy Record, a theater education major from Jacksonville, Ala., said seeing her dad as a member of the Air Force gave her motivation to join the military.
The cadets said though there are not many women in the ROTC program, they have never felt looked down upon.
“It’s not a huge deal,” Rubilar said. “There are obvious differences that come with being a girl. There is a different physical level I can reach. Even though I can do as many push-ups as ever, I know that a guy will probably always beat me and that is completely fine with me. I’ve come to terms with that, because I bring other things to the table guys don’t necessarily have. I don’t feel segregated or ostracized because I’m a girl.”
Record also said while it is different for female cadets, they are never treated poorly.
“They don’t discourage girls from being there; they encourage it,” Record said. “They like it when there are girls in the program. They bring something to it — I don’t know what — but they like us there.”
The cadets said it is definitely possible to be in the military and still be a woman.
“We’re just as feminine as everyone else,” Record said. “Sometimes more so. We’re still girls. We still are feminine. We still strive for those qualities of womanhood. You can still have that and be in the army. They don’t take that away from you.”
An important reason Lambson said she joined the ROTC is to help her country.
“It has always existed, this pride in my country and the desire to serve and it hasn’t died,” Lambson said.