On a sunny Friday afternoon in the Little Circle, Talo Siva, a cadet in the BYU-Hawaii ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corp), was surrounded by friends and family as he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. Siva, a recent graduate of BYU-Hawaii from American Samoa, smiled as he fought back emotions. “I made it. I did it. It was a tough journey, a lot of stress, but I made it. Thank you all for giving up your lunch to come. Thank you so much for coming,” Siva said.The BYUH ROTC is a college-based program for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. As a part of ROTC, students may receive merit-based scholarships, covering all or part of college tuition in exchange for obligatory military service. At BYUH, ROTC has a physical training portion held here on campus with a classroom section held weekly at the University of Hawaii Manoa campus in Honolulu. Siva said it was difficult to balance school, work and attend class in Manoa. “I didn’t have a car, but luckily the school helped us with cars. Sometimes though we couldn’t get cars and we had to take the bus. That was rough,” said Siva.Tanner Farley, a junior studying music from Utah, is the detachment leader here at BYUH. Farley said there are currently nine students in the program. “ROTC is a really good option for financial support, career opportunities, and leadership. It offers a very secure career path, and it’s a great way to kickstart a career. The main thing we want people to know is that it’s a good opportunity and it’s available.”Ni Shipeng, a sophomore studying ICS from China, said, “I’ve never considered going into the military, but I think that it’s a great way to teach you discipline and responsibility. I think you can only really learn these things in the military or serving a mission.”Siva said he signed up after friends who went through the program encouraged him to join ROTC. “It’s a great program for those who are undecided. My advice is to try it out. If it’s yours, go for it,” said Siva.Siva will be entering the Army Reserves in his native American Samoa and will participate in monthly reserve exercises while hoping to teach elementary education.Major John Carson, the ranking officer at the commission ceremony, said of Siva, “If I had one word to describe Siva, it would be perseverance. To come from American Samoa, fulfill his responsibilities, drive from the North Shore every week, and achieve his goals is truly remarkable.”
Writer: Homer Wolman~Multimedia Journalist
