Spring Break
ROTC cadet earns high honor
Kate Monohan
Issue date: 10/29/08 Section: News
Between changing diapers, doing push-ups, and studying for hours on end, Cadet Samuel Sistare has earned the respect of his peers and established himself as a leader in the ROTC program.
Cadet Sistare, a 7th-semester general studies major with a concentration on corporate and organizational studies, has been nominated as October's "Cadet of the Month," a new award in UConn's Army ROTC program.
Sistare received an Associate's Degree in 2000 from Mitchell College. Then, in 2003, he enlisted in the Army "on a whim" - an unexpected decision for a manager of a Champs Sports store, Sistare recalled.
He was enlisted as a Tanker, served a tour in South Korea and then spent all of 2005 in Iraq. After six years of duty, he decided that he wanted to be an officer to obtain more benefits for his family, so he came to UConn, the main headquarters for Army ROTC in Connecticut.
Sistare was chosen for October's Cadet of the Month by Cadet Jonathan Flores, a 7th-semester mathematics major at Eastern Connecticut State University. He decided to start this award because he wanted the ROTC students to gain recognition for their hard work and to give the ROTC program some campus visibility.
Flores explained that he nominated Sistare for this award based on his excellent balance of family life with the demands of the ROTC program. Flores explained that Sistare also was recognized based on the Army ROTC's annual "Order of Merit List," ranking cadets on their leadership, academics, and performance on physical tests performed between their junior and senior years.
He noted that Sistare was ranked in the top 5 percent in the nation out of over 4,000 cadets, which was a large part of the reason he was nominated for this award.
Flores admitted, there's no real "reward" for being Cadet of the Month, and even if there were, Sistare probably wouldn't accept it. If granted a day off of physical training (PT), Sistare would probably come anyway, Flores said. Sistare agreed, saying it would throw off his daily routine.
Cadet Sistare, a 7th-semester general studies major with a concentration on corporate and organizational studies, has been nominated as October's "Cadet of the Month," a new award in UConn's Army ROTC program.
Sistare received an Associate's Degree in 2000 from Mitchell College. Then, in 2003, he enlisted in the Army "on a whim" - an unexpected decision for a manager of a Champs Sports store, Sistare recalled.
He was enlisted as a Tanker, served a tour in South Korea and then spent all of 2005 in Iraq. After six years of duty, he decided that he wanted to be an officer to obtain more benefits for his family, so he came to UConn, the main headquarters for Army ROTC in Connecticut.
Sistare was chosen for October's Cadet of the Month by Cadet Jonathan Flores, a 7th-semester mathematics major at Eastern Connecticut State University. He decided to start this award because he wanted the ROTC students to gain recognition for their hard work and to give the ROTC program some campus visibility.
Flores explained that he nominated Sistare for this award based on his excellent balance of family life with the demands of the ROTC program. Flores explained that Sistare also was recognized based on the Army ROTC's annual "Order of Merit List," ranking cadets on their leadership, academics, and performance on physical tests performed between their junior and senior years.
He noted that Sistare was ranked in the top 5 percent in the nation out of over 4,000 cadets, which was a large part of the reason he was nominated for this award.
Flores admitted, there's no real "reward" for being Cadet of the Month, and even if there were, Sistare probably wouldn't accept it. If granted a day off of physical training (PT), Sistare would probably come anyway, Flores said. Sistare agreed, saying it would throw off his daily routine.
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