High school students get a taste of cadet life

For Shelby Carlock, attending the University of North Georgia (UNG) was a family affair since her mother, sister and uncle are alumni. But she shied away from applying to the university.

"I wasn't planning on attending UNG. I had scholarships and offers to play softball and tennis at other schools," the 19-year-old from Lafayette, Georgia, said.

Then Carlock attended the National Leadership Challenge (NLC) weekend at UNG. The biannual event, which occurs in the fall and spring, had a profound effect on her.

"After the obstacle course at Pine Valley, I had my 'a-ha' moment," she said. "I realized I wanted to serve my country and be an officer in the U.S. Army."

When she returned home, Carlock immediately applied to UNG and inquired about the Army ROTC Scholarship. Now, she is a sophomore pursuing a cybersecurity degree at UNG.

Mike Ivy, director of cadet admissions at UNG, said the NLC is designed to give high school students a "macro view" of life in UNG's Corps of Cadets.

"Our surveys indicate that an overwhelming majority of participants decide to attend UNG that weekend," Ivy said. "If UNG is not at the top of their list, it becomes their No. 1 choice or moves up in the rankings. And a large majority of the students have a phenomenal time."

About 112 high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from across the country descended upon UNG for the NLC weekend Nov. 5-7. They were grouped into teams of 10 to run the obstacle courses at Pine Valley and rappel down a cliff at the Army 5th Ranger Training Battalion at Camp Frank D. Merrill. Students also dined together in a military chow hall and spent their nights bunking at Wahsega 4-H Camp, about 10 miles from UNG's Dahlonega Campus.

"They learn about team-building, teamwork and communications, because all of those are tied together," Ivy said. "Some will even learn about themselves."

He said this experience is one of a trio of activities that help recruit students to UNG. The remaining two are the campus tour and the cadet overnight visit experience.

"The overnight visit offers students a micro view of the cadet experience," Ivy said. "They are assigned an individual cadet mentor who provides their UNG experience both as a cadet and college student at UNG. They spend the night in the cadet military residence halls, conduct physical fitness training with the Corps, and may attend a couple of classes the next morning depending on the cadet mentor's class schedule."

UNG is one of six senior military colleges in the nation and carries the distinction of The Military College of Georgia. Its nationally recognized Army ROTC program attracts students from across the state, region and nation.