By Madison Thompson–

University of Louisville ROTC Cadets showed support at the Clemson football game, Sept. 16, at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. When the Cardinals scored, more than 14 Cadets rushed out onto the field and executed push-ups, one push-up per point.

“We do push-ups when we score…obviously, everyone wants us to do a thousand push-ups. Hopefully, we do enough to win the game,” said Cadet Caroline Duplessis.

“It just supports our partnership with U of L and ROTC, which couldn’t be any better because we’re on campus and it’s good to get out there to show our support.”

Cadets not only performed push-ups, but also served during the Card March and the Color Guard.

“We’re here to support the school. They asked us to come out to do the Color Guard. This game, the Air Force is doing it, but we do it for a lot of other games such as the soccer games and the volleyball games,” said Cadet Rachel Biermen. “We also do the Card March at the beginning of the game.”

Cadets participate in supporting athletic events as well as studying at the university to complete their degrees and becoming future leaders in the Army.

“ROTC requires a lot of time commitment and dedication. We do PT almost every morning at 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. before our classes. We have actual classes that we go to. We go to two-hour labs on Wednesdays, where we work on our tactical development and our leadership development,” Turner said.

Through all of the hard work, cadets still enjoy their time.

“I do enjoy my time in ROTC. It’s a lot of work but, at the end of the day, it’s so worth it. The people you meet in the Army. It’s like a family and the people in the Army make it worth it. Also, the leadership training is awesome. I love the aspect of doing something for others,” said Duplessis.

The joint cooperation between U of L and the ROTC program serves many purposes.

“We get to show how awesome we are by doing push-ups and, at the same time, we also get to go out there to the front line when the team is walking by. We get a lot of recognition with that and people ask a lot of questions, which is a good time to promote the program,” Turner said.

“We really want to emphasize that we are students here,” said Bierman. “We’re not just Army members at your school. We’re integrated into the school; that’s our job.”