The moment Chelsea Ford toured the United States Military Academy at West Point in New York with her uncle, she was captivated by military life.
"My uncle went to West Point, and I went with him to visit the campus when I was 15," Ford said. "The second semester of my freshman year, I enrolled in ROTC."
The Bandys High School senior said she loved a lot of things about West Point — the campus, the cadets doing drills — and for a while she thought that was where she wanted to go to school. It helped inspire her to do well in ROTC at Bandys.
"My first two semesters, I didn't come out of my shell," Ford said. "But then, you have to teach classes, instead of the teacher. My sophomore year, I decided it was what I wanted to do as a career."
During her junior year, she was the battalion S-5 commander. Ford was responsible for planning the military ball, Santa's breakfast and updating the military letter that's sent out.
By the time her senior year rolled around, she was selected as the battalion commander. And from the way she talks about ROTC, it's easy to see why she was selected.
"I love drill. I like the sound of the shoes, of everybody in step," Ford said. "ROTC is the best choice I've made in high school. I've met a lot of different people, and I've learned more about myself. You have to evaluate yourself and others, and you're usually harder on yourself than other people are."
Although she may be hard on herself, Ford says she finds it difficult to be hard on others.
"As battalion commander, it can be hard to criticize other people when they aren't doing something right," she said.
She must be doing something right in her leadership. Bandys' student body also elected her as the student body president for her senior year, something she wanted after being involved in the Student Government Association the previous three years because Ford wanted to improve the school.
"I think our school could be so much better if people were more involved," she said.
After graduating today, Ford will have the summer to prepare for college. She's headed to Davidson College, where she received a full ROTC scholarship, along with a $300 stipend each month.
Ford chose Davidson because it is a smaller, more close-knit school, and had an Army ROTC program.
"I want to go into the Army, because it's all I've ever known, and Davidson has it," she said.
Ford said she hopes to be a pre-med and German major, and go to Landstuhl, Germany, and work in the largest overseas military hospital.
"I want to help people," she said.
Ford loves Bandys' ROTC program, and hopes that she'll find many similarities in Davidson's program.
"It's like a family. They always know when something's wrong, and they're here to help you," she said.
Ford said she's excited but nervous about starting at Davidson College. She said her parents are supportive of her decision. And her uncle, who helped inspire her decision to get into ROTC in the first place?
"He's very happy that I'm going into the military," she said.
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