The Cadets Did the Hard Work
By Jason Oberoi ’09, Acting Director of the Citizen-Leader Track
Note to readers: Jason Oberoi joined the Corps of Cadets staff in 2016. This summer, he will leave the Corps to pursue a career in nursing.
As I get closer to my last day, I find myself thinking about my time in the Citizen-Leader Track as a cadet would to see if I moved the needle for the program.
COVID-19 and staffing challenges did us no favors in the last year and a half. Job fairs going online and recruiters not coming to campus made it hard for the cadets to make career connections. Online classes and limits on how many people could be in a room took away their ability to be with their peers.
It has not been an easy time. But somehow, through all of it, our cadets continue to be as successful as ever and continued the trend of most accepting career-starting jobs or admission to graduate school before they graduated. Our under-class cadets also continue to earn internships and field studies that will advance their careers and professional development.
Through their performance at internships, along with help from alumni and families, we also have more relationships with employers, which means employers are more likely to reach out in the future when they need interns and employees.
I am excited to see where the program goes as the new director and assistant director come on board. I ask that alumni, families, and cadets continue to support the program with advice, time, and donations. It truly makes a difference in our cadets’ success — imagine one day when cadets in the Citizen-Leader Track can just worry about professional development and their grades instead of having to work and worry about debt.
They are a great group of students to work with because they have to earn their keep every day. Many have gone into the federal intelligence agencies, higher education, medicine, and law.
They are filling the moral and intellectual needs of the nation. They are a vital resource worthy of support.
So to answer my question, I helped, but the cadets did the work. It would have been nice to not have a global pandemic to fight through, but there is no other group of cadets that I would have rather be alongside because of their can-do attitudes and because they are a great group.
To the cadets: If you all ever need anything, my phone is always on and my email will not change. Stay in touch, there is nothing better than hearing about your success.