Hi I'm Charlotte :) I'm a Sophomore at Vanderbilt who does vlogs, gives rotc and college tips, and lots more! Make sure to subscribe for new videos that I post weekly.
Instagram: @Charlotte.frances For business inquiries: charlotte.f.penberthy@vanderbilt.edu
Battalion Commander in Army JROTC here: Another tip I would give that I feel is often overlooked or assumed is to be confident. Be confident in what you know, don't be cocky, be confident. One of her tips was to know your knowledge, and it's a really great tip. If you know your knowledge, you'll notice you have a LOT more confidence, you won't wanna stick out from the others if you don't know your knowledge, simply because you don't want the embarrassment of being asked something and you not knowing it. I've seen this all too many times, I'm going into my senior year as BC but was a Company Commander last year and noticed it, even with my fellow commanders. If you believe you can get by and be a leader without knowing general information and kind of "slide into the position" quietly, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, it won't work. Not only will you be asked as the leader anyway, but you can't expect to correct someone if you don't know it as well. I remember as a sophomore, I was being inspected and had made a slight mistake on my uniform. The person inspecting me was the CSM of the unit, after inspection, I noticed that his uniform was jacked up. I had this confirmed with my SAI, instead of saying something to him directly, I told my SAI. I won't lie, this was because of 2 reasons. 1. I was scared to be disrespectful. 2. I wasn't completely sure if I was in the right or not. It's okay to respectfully tell a leader "Hey, I think your star is misplaced a little." It doesn't matter the position, as long as you're respectful about it. (Side note: If you can respectfully correct them in a more private area, that's always best. You're trying to help them. Not embarrass them.) I'd like to really reiterate that you shouldn't be cocky, because if you are, then slowly you'll be known as the person they don't want to approach. I just sat here for 15 minutes typing this, please let me know if you got something out of it, and thanks for reading, I hope you learned something!
Just came across this video, but just wanted to say that you were such an incredible mentor and inspiration to J & T during their time in the unit! Crazy that we talked to you and Hannah about your experiences before joining! Now T has a Navy scholarship. So proud of your successes!! 😊😊
I’m going into high school next month and I’m literally terrified. I don’t know if I should get into JROTC but I know it’s a good way to get a kick ass job and not drown in school debt. I don’t know I’m just scared for all of it.
Just a mom of two young girls. I really want to set them up for success and go to school debt free. I have to start now in introducing this possible future in a healthy way without forcing it. This video is super helpful.
Hi, love the videos they're a great help. Just one question on when I should apply for the program. I'm an incoming senior so should I apply now in the summer, or should I wait until after my senior year is over and I graduated?
I am on my second year of NJROTC i love this program but in my school our Top 3 is not my favorite i love my XO but the others could be better but yes RESPECT THE RANK!!!! I Know I have to and everyone does. In my school the drill team is optional but it is still super fun and i would not trade it for anything we are all one big family.
Go Gold Battalion from the Kate 90’s. I remember the joys of rucking down to the river for Ranger Challenge. Cool to see how some things have changed at Vandy and some stayed the same.
@@jacksonreese17 Definitely be very prepared!!! I wasn’t as prepared as I could’ve been…. I stuttered on some parts and I didn’t recite my answers enough. Make sure you have done lots of research on the officer job/military future you want to let them know that you are really interested. They also asked me things like the definition of integrity and what it means to me, examples of troubles I have overcome, examples of leadership, examples of learning from failure, what my workout routine/habits are etc…. I would definitely recommend practicing w a family member or friend even if it’s awkward. I don’t have the results back yet but I did pass the pft as well. My grades weren’t that great and I wasn’t in any clubs or sports in high school which is something that’s important to them. I’m definitely not confident that I will get the scholarship but I think there’s a chance. Good luck to you!
@@X-sway I went to a small small school so I had zero honors or ap classes. I had a gpa of 3.5. I have straight A’s my senior year but my lowest grade was in the 70s from my softmore year.
hello. if you interview for a school you're not sure you will go to, how do you navigate getting the scholarship assigned to a different school? how does that all work?
That’s cool seeing how navy jrotc works! Im army jrotc and have stayed every year and earned the rank of cadet 1SG or an E8, Im also the raider commander!
Im a freshman in NJROTC. There is actually some differences between our units. My unit we do PT two times a week, and a team isn't required along with the 20 hours of community and unjt service. My unit doesn't do weekly presentations, however it would be nice!
So, if you’re not an elite, popular, attractive, smart, sporty type person who was involved in student government and all that, you’re not getting enrolled into ROTC let alone getting a scholarship. Those are the only type of people colleges accept
Hi, I applied for the first board in October this year and was awarded the Ike Skelton Scholarhsip for the Army ROTC early commissioning program. I have been watching some of your videos for what the ROTC life will be like. Thanks for the help!
Don’t forget about all the teenage drama. Some of the cadets I taught just kept getting into stuff. I remember talking to my buddy who was the Corps Commander before me. She told me about a whole soap opera that I had no idea about.
Did you go to Morocco between your first and second year or are you going Summer of Sophomore year? Did you already have Arabic training to get selected for Project GO?
I’m thinking of going into NJROTC at my highschool, I know it’ll be physically challenging but I’m prepared for that, can you make a video about your pros and cons of NJROTC instead of just JROTC
Hey Charlotte! First off this video is super helpful as I'm a senior applying for the scholarship. My top school is far away and I won't have the time to be able to travel all the way down there for an interview. If this is the case, should I just interview with the closest school? Thanks!
Thank you so much, this really helped me, bc I'm going into my first year of JROTC, as a freshman, and I really appreciate it, I am so grateful now that I know what to expect from JROTC. thank you so much for all of the advice,.
We have about 50-60 people in rotc which is not too big and I like the size. I remember we were doing a FTX with another school and they had like 200-300 people in rotc.
Thats great! Good Luck! Just stay positive, try to get to know as many people as you can (your class and upperclassmen too), and absorb all the info they give you.
