Three MTSU ROTC cadets awarded thousands in Army Reserve scholarships

Three Middle Tennessee State University ROTC cadets were awarded Army Reserve scholarships during veteran appreciation events held at a recent Women’s Basketball game at Murphy Center.

Sophomores Tyson Ramsey and Natia Zawacki were presented with Army Reserve Minuteman Scholarships, valued at more than $54,000, at the Jan. 30 ceremony. Also, sophomore John Sharp received a separate ROTC scholarship valued at more than $24,000.

Andrew Oppmann, right, MTSU vice president for marketing and communications and Army Reserve ambassador, congratulates sophomore ROTC cadet John Sharp after the student received a Army Reserve scholarship during a special presentation Jan. 30 at the MTSU Women’s Basketball’s veteran appreciation night at Murphy Center. At left is Army Lt. Col. Carrick McCarthy, MTSU’s professor of military science and head of the Blue Raider Battalion. (MTSU photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)

Sharp, Ramsey and Zawacki were among six ROTC cadets sworn in as members of the Army by Lt. Col. Carrick McCarthy, MTSU’s professor of military science and head of the Blue Raider Battalion. Also taking part in the enlistment ceremony were junior Zack Dougan, sophomore William Mitchell and senior Zachary Seaton.

Army by Lt. Col. Carrick McCarthy, MTSU’s professor of military science and head of the Blue Raider Battalion, front left, and Andrew Oppmann, MTSU vice president for marketing and communications and Army Reserve ambassador, back left, congratulate newly contracted ROTC cadets during a special ceremony Jan. 30 at the MTSU Women’s Basketball’s veteran appreciation night at Murphy Center. (MTSU photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)

Army Lt. Col. Carrick McCarthy, left, MTSU’s professor of military science and head of the Blue Raider Battalion, and Andrew Oppmann, center left, MTSU vice president for marketing and communications and Army Reserve ambassador, congratulate newly contracted ROTC cadets during a special ceremony Jan. 30 at the MTSU Women’s Basketball’s veteran appreciation night at Murphy Center. (MTSU photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)

Joining McCarthy in congratulating the students was MTSU Vice President Andrew Oppmann, who serves as an Army Reserve ambassador and represented the Army Reserve’s commanding general, Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey.

McCarthy said the ceremony serves as the official transition for the cadets from civilian to soldier. The cadets will receive $425 per month and a $600 book stipend per semester. Upon graduation, the cadets will be commissioned as second lieutenants.

As part of the Jan. 30 event, members of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division rappelled from the rafters of Murphy Center and delivered the game ball to retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, MTSU’s senior advisor for veterans and leadership initiatives.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, left, accepts the game ball from a member of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division after it was rappelled from the rafters onto the Hale Arena hardwood Jan. 30 as part of MTSU Women’s Basketball’s veteran appreciation night at Murphy Center. Huber, senior advisor for veterans and leadership initiatives at MTSU, spent nine years of his 38-year military career with the 101st. (MTSU photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, left, accepts the game ball from a member of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division after the soldier rappelled with it from the rafters onto the Hale Arena hardwood Jan. 30 as part of MTSU Women’s Basketball’s veteran appreciation night at Murphy Center. Huber, senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives at MTSU, spent nine years of his 38-year military career with the 101st. (MTSU photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)

Army Lt. Col. Carrick McCarthy, left, MTSU’s professor of military science and head of the Blue Raider Battalion, poses for a photo with sophomore ROTC cadets John Sharp, Natia Zawacki and Tyson Ramsey and Andrew Oppmann, MTSU vice president for marketing and communications and Army Reserve ambassador, at the Women’s Basketball veterans appreciation night held Jan. 30 at Murphy Center. The three students received Army Reserve scholarships totaling more than $130,000. (MTSU photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)

A member of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division rappels from the rafters of Murphy Center Jan. 30 to deliver the game ball as part of MTSU Women’s Basketball’s veteran appreciation night. (MTSU photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)