Jordan Armstrong, a self-described "Army brat," was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and has lived all over the world.
"One of the opportunities that I never took for granted was having the opportunity to travel, experience new cultures, and meet new people, because that's not something that a lot of people get the opportunity to do," she said of her father's 28-year military career.
"Seeing how he interacted with his soldiers and the impact he made on people's lives in his military career is something that influenced me," she said.
The lifestyle has impacted many areas of the cadet command sergeant major's life, including her leadership style. Leadership is very personalized, Armstrong said.
"Taking into account different cultures and backgrounds is something that a lot of people don't really understand in terms of leadership," Armstrong said. "I'm so thankful and grateful to have opportunities to experience so many different cultures and so many different people through my dad and traveling. I have been able to understand how to treat people who are different from me."
Armstrong says her style has been formed by taking small aspects of what she likes about a leader and how she would change aspects she doesn't like.
"Think about how you can lead differently and how you can make the change that maybe they're not able to make," Armstrong said.
The junior pursuing a degree in kinesiology with a sports medicine concentration, uses her leadership inside and outside of the Corps of Cadets, including her sorority, Delta Zeta, which often fundraises for Starkey Hearing Foundation, SeriousFun Children's Network, and the American Society for Deaf Children.
Within the corps, she allows others the opportunity to shadow her and train to be "the next me," using her role as more of an advisory one.
"I try to be as empathetic as possible in terms of my leadership style, because there's always a deeper rooted issue," she said. "I've seen a lot of leaders who lacked empathy, where they're very quick to jump down your throat for your first time mistake. This is a learning experience. So, I try to use empathy.”
Armstrong said she wants to be an athletic trainer and hopes to work with Army Special Forces, often referred to as Army tactical athletes.
"Special Forces soldiers are doing the hardest of the hard jobs, and being able to help them with injury prevention and getting back to full ability if they're ever injured is something I want to do," she said.
