Project GO
Promoting Bilingual Officers through the ROTC Program
I participated in the Project Global Officer Program this past summer. Project Global Officer is a program where ROTC cadets participate in an intensive language class for a period of eight weeks, over the summer.
I chose Russian as my language focus and attended classes at the University of Madison, in the Slavic Languages Department. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of learning Russian and the challenge it took to learn it in only eight weeks. I lived in the dorms for the duration of classes and enjoyed seeing the sites of Madison on the banks of Lake Mendota. Each day, I had the first half of classes in the morning and then an hour lunch break before the second half commenced in the afternoon. I got to enjoy many different types of food, from authentic Russian restaurants and from the course instructors as well. Every Wednesday, we ate as a class in the higher level courses and spoke in Russian the whole time!
The entire class was very rewarding, and after completing the final exam, I felt a great sense of accomplishment for all the work I put in. The course was difficult, and should anyone take it, they should prepare to work hard. I would recommend any Cadet and individual to take the extra step and enhance their language skills by learning a foreign language. Personally, I would highly recommend Russian, but I may have a little bias.
CDT MSIII Elisha Lewis