Fierce work ethic and full-ride ROTC scholarship opens doors for an aspirational first year
When Cadet Tana’ina Reyes was still a high school student with college on the horizon, she had no idea what she wanted to study and never expected to become involved in the military.
Reyes was born and raised in Guam, and up until three years ago, she had never even left the island.
Although her stepfather and brother serve in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, Reyes wasn’t sure she wanted to follow that path. However, everything changed when she enrolled in Junior ROTC at Mount Miguel High School, just looking to fulfill her physical education credit.
“I fell in love with (Junior ROTC) my sophomore year,” Reyes said. “I continued to stay in it for the rest of high school.”
Now a first-year food and nutrition major at San Diego State University, Reyes has a full, four-year scholarship through the SDSU Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).
Reyes served as battalion executive officer in Junior ROTC, and was widely involved in her high school, serving as a color guard commander, cross country captain, track and field distance captain, and a varsity soccer player.
“I interviewed Cadet Reyes for her national scholarship,” said Lieutenant Colonel Josh Sider, a professor of military science at SDSU. “I also had the opportunity to go to her awards night at Mount Miguel High School, and (she) is just a really strong candidate.”
“She’s involved in a lot of stuff,” Sider continued. “Like I said for our ROTC students, they are involved in a lot at SDSU. I was like ‘She’s going to be able to handle the workload of all this because she’s already doing it.’”
“I did have a goal to be (a) first-generation college student,” said Reyes.
“My family, my instructors, my coaches– a lot of people were telling me, ‘You should do it. It’s definitely going to be worth it,’” Reyes said. Everyone who knew her as a person knew she had the potential to be an officer.
According to Sider, Reyes checked “all those boxes of scholar, athlete, and leader” and her strong initiative to become involved in her community landed her a four-year scholarship to SDSU.
“I chose SDSU because, first and foremost, my career goal is to be a high school teacher at my high school, Mount Miguel,” said Reyes.
After her Army ROTC four-year scholarship, she will serve a mandatory four years and is considering serving additional time in the U.S. Army to help pay for her master’s degree to become a teacher.
Reyes said her scholarship has not only helped her come closer to achieving her personal and financial goals, such as buying her own car, but it has also helped her to become stronger in both leadership and character.
“(The program) has helped me develop as a person,” Reyes said. “It’s helped me learn how to work well with others who are so different.”
SDSU’s Army ROTC program is “run by the cadets,” according to Sider, who said the instructors are only there to help mentor them. The program aims to build up the cadets’ leadership skills, which Sider says will serve them not only in the field but throughout their lives.
“Being in the program and the scholarship overall, it just helps me be a better person and helps me achieve my goals, one by one, little by little,” Reyes said.
ROTC scholarships help students like Reyes fully cover their college education, while simultaneously training them to serve in the military, in branches such as the Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force.
The application for Army ROTC has three different deadlines every year to meet students' needs and accommodate where they may be in their college application process. The next two deadlines for applications will be Jan. 20, 2025, and Mar. 17, 2025.
Through ROTC, students can qualify for scholarships that may cover the full cost of attending SDSU—just like the one Reyes earned through her hard work and dedication.
For more information on Army ROTC scholarships through SDSU, visit the program’s contact page or SDSU website.
