ROTC- Savannah Markell

Savannah Markell, a freshman, tells us on why she decided to become a part of ROTC at Florida State and how she received a three-year scholarship!

"I was inspired to join because I wanted to serve my country but not on the front line. I knew I wanted to be a nurse even going into high school but I had no idea that ultimately I would be doing my job through the US Army. Looking back, I would have laughed if someone told me I would be an army nurse but now I am so excited about my future. Being an ROTC Cadet is time consuming but doable, especially because all we do motivates you and encourages you to be a better person overall. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we have physical training, PT, from 06:30-07:30. PT is different every morning, some days we have track work outs some days we go on long runs. Tuesday, I have my military science class and it meets once a week. We talk about the army values, learn ranks, and basics that we will need to know.

"Wednesdays we have Lab that consists of planned lessons, the ms1s and 2s are led by the ms3s and 4s. I’m an ms1 and seniors are ms4s. We learn tactical hands on stuff in lab that we can't learn in our individual classes. As you go up in MS classes, you gain leadership skills and are expected to show initiative and take care of the younger cadets and show them the ropes. I will graduate with a major in nursing and minor in military science because of the military classes I take over these four years.

"It is kind of crazy because I came in my first semester not sure if I wanted to go the army route but I showed up to all the PT's went to class and started to succeed, I'm actually number one on the OML which is the list of all the MS1 cadets. We all compete against each other for contracts/ scholarships, and I recently received a three-year scholarship. It was very unexpected and I was elated to earn it because as a nursing cadet I compete with the nation of nurses and not for what my fellow FSU cadets are competing for."

Senior Spotlight: Janelle Johnston

Janelle Johnston is a current senior in Alpha Chi Omega!

“I'm a part of Seminole Productions, so I've had a lot of great opportunities with them. I'm a sports reporter for Seminole Sports Magazine, a show that airs on TV every Saturday on Fox Sun Sports! As a reporter I have to craft story pitches, coordinate and conduct interviews with athletes and coaches, and work with my editor/cameraman to ultimately produce the features. I've been apart of this for a while now so I've gotten to do pieces on numerous sports. I've gotten to interview people like Coach Mike Martin, Dalvin Cook, some Seminole football legends who have returned, etc.

"I just finished up a piece on a preview of the baseball season, and right now I'm working with the seniors of the men's basketball team reflecting on their time here at FSU. They're so much fun to work with and its never a dull moment with them. It's cool to hear their favorite moments from their four years, how they've changed since freshman year, what it means to them to wear garnet and gold, etc. Turn on Fox Sun on any given Saturday morning and you'll see me!”

Janelle is also a sports intern at WCTV, a campus connection correspondent for ESPNU, and last semester was a TA at FSU for a course called television interviewing and hosting. 

“And as for what I want to do ultimately... I've wanted to be a sports reporter my whole life. I used to bring my camera with me to my elementary school games and interview my teammates and shoot myself sidelining my own games. And it's definitely what I intend on doing with my life!”

Spring Break Mission Trips!

Over Spring Break, two of our sisters went on mission trips. Jenn Coates travelled to Grenada, where she worked with a school called PAM (program for adolescent mothers). Hannah Emerson went to Riobamba, Ecuador on a MEDlife trip.

Jenn says, “girls get kicked out of school in Grenada for being pregnant so here they are able to get a ‘second chance.’ It has a day care for them to bring their children and it gives them an education as well as teach them parenting skills. When we got there, we taught about teen dating violence, so like healthy relationships, boundaries, etc. We also taught about character development, so like future goals that they had, obstacles they had to go through, and better ways of communication.”

Hannah says, “we had 3 days of clinic, which included treating patients of all ages as well as teaching the children how to brush their teeth. We had one project day where we built concrete stairs that lead and down a mountain for a community. It is incredible that in a country only a short plane ride away, everything is different. My favorite part of the trip was witnessing the impact that simple healthcare made for the different people and communities. This trip reminded me of what a privilege it is to have access to things that many of us take for granted such as running water, food and healthcare. It was amazing seeing that such a minor thing such as a toothbrush or a sticker could make a child's day.”