Donald Wescoat

"I learned in my time here that's not necessarily who any leader needs to be, but it's what a lot of people want to be. They want to be the person who’s revered as a hard man or woman," Wescoat said. "I've had a lot of examples of great mentor leaders instead of strong-arm leaders, and that's probably the best thing I learned here."

Wescoat, a May 2019 graduate who earned a criminal justice degree with a forensics concentration and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Georgia Army National Guard, prefers that relational method of leadership. His time at UNG gave him the opportunity to put it into practice in various roles.

As a sophomore, Wescoat was Foxtrot Company’s non-commissioned officer (NCO) for training. With Wescoat in charge of the physical training (PT) plan for Foxtrot, the company earned the highest PT average in UNG's Corps of Cadets.

"It was a lot of us working together and having a good time doing PT," Wescoat said.

Wescoat served as executive officer for the National Guard detachment on UNG's Dahlonega Campus his senior year. In that role, he oversaw the training plans for 140 people in that role and worked closely with Capt. Elijah Carroll, who serves as the commander for the National Guard detachment on UNG's Dahlonega Campus, is the National Guard liaison to UNG, Georgia Military Scholarship committee member, faculty adviser for the Corps of Cadets’ Hotel Company, and an assistant professor of military science.

That was a major change from when Wescoat was responsible for 22 to 30 people as a platoon-level training officer.

Wescoat was one of UNG's 2018-19 Distinguished Military Graduates, and he finished fourth out of 40 at the platoon level at Advanced Camp in summer 2018.

Wescoat enlisted in the Georgia National Guard in 2014 before enrolling at UNG in August 2015. He earned is a recipient of the University of North Georgia Military Scholarship, which is generally given to Georgia high school seniors who commit to attend UNG and commission as officers in the Georgia Army National Guard after graduation. The four-year scholarship pays for room, meals, tuition, books, uniforms, and fees.

Connections he made at UNG also helped him land an internship in fall 2018 with the U.S. Marshals.

Wescoat's duty station with the Army National Guard will be in Marietta, Georgia, as a quartermaster for the infantry battalion he first enlisted with. His education has helped him prepare for his two dream jobs from childhood: a member of the military and a policeman.

Regardless of where he goes, the confidence he has gained at UNG will serve him well. He said Carroll, along with Maj. Joshua Patterson, liaison for the Army National Guard, and retired Maj. William O'Neal, military science instructor and company adviser at UNG, transformed him from a single-minded approach to meeting people halfway.

And the time management skills gained in the Corps of Cadets will prove invaluable.

"The Corps likes to throw a lot of stuff at you at once and kind of see how you can deal with it," Wescoat said.