Local News
ROTC cadet to receive honors during ceremony
Woman plans to enroll in medical school ahead of active duty
By Greg Grisolano
ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG, Kan. — Melissa Roush wanted to follow in her brother’s footsteps in Pittsburg State University’s ROTC program.
Her brother, Bradley Roush, was a battalion commander during his time at PSU, and he is completing his training for Special Forces duty. Melissa Roush said her brother’s success at PSU played a role in her decision to join the military.
“He’s the one who got me into ROTC,” she said. “It did a lot of good for him and helped him get his life off on the right foot.”
But Melissa Roush, a senior in biology at PSU, is going where no cadet in the history of PSU’s officer training program has gone before, as one of the most decorated in the program’s history.
Roush is set to receive two top national honors for military cadets during the program’s spring banquet tonight: the Legion of Valor Bronze Cross and the 2009 Pallas Athene Award.
“It’s really a big honor,” she said Wednesday. “But I’m just going out there and trying my hardest. It’s good to be recognized, but I would try just as hard either way.”
The Bronze Cross is awarded to the top cadets in the nation. Roush ranks 26th out of 4,703 cadets nationwide, according to a news release from PSU. The qualifications for that ranking include academic success, physical fitness, leadership and extracurricular activities.
She is the student battalion commander at PSU and supervises roughly 80 cadets who are in various levels of the ROTC program.
“As battalion commander, her function is really more of providing strategic vision and long-term planning,” said Lt. Col. Donald Stoner, chairman of the military sciences department at PSU. “The cadets run the battalion. They do the plans and execute the training, and she is an integral part of that.”
Stoner said Roush already has been highly decorated in her four years at PSU, and “she’s going to get some more Thursday night.”
“One of the things we focus on here is students first, because ultimately it’s academics and education that’s going to allow our cadets to be successful,” he said. “She definitely has the drive that it takes, and she sets a positive example.”
Officials say the Bronze Cross is such a rare award that the Army prefers it be conferred on a cadet by a Medal of Honor recipient. Col. Ron Seglie, a Pittsburg physician, will bestow the honor on the young woman.
The Pallas Athene Award is given to a handful of female cadets by the Women’s Army Corps Veterans’ Association.
When she graduates in May, Roush will receive a commission as a second lieutenant, but she will put off going into active duty so she can attend medical school at the University of Kansas. She said her goal is to become an Army medic.
“The military is a really good opportunity for me to go to other countries and to practice medicine there,” she said.
40 cadets
About 40 cadets in the ROTC program at Pittsburg State University will receive honors during a banquet at 6 p.m. today in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom at PSU.
- Local News
-
-
Joplin’s depot difficulty
The last developer to make a run at renovating Joplin’s historic Union Depot says she wishes the city success with its current proposal. Nancy Allman’s attempt in the late 1980s collapsed in a welter of red ink and a snarl of lawsuits.
-
Little Balkans Days draws crowds aplenty
Those involved with Little Balkans Days festivities called this year one of the best in memory, with participation up in several events and a steady stream of attendees Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
-
Union Depot timeline: Not in use since 1969
July 2, 1911: The Union Depot opens to serve four railroads. Nov. 4, 1969: The last passenger train pulls out of the Union Depot, closing it to public use. ... July 1998: The Department of Natural Resources secures the building after unsuccessfully trying to sell it at auction.
-
Expectations grow for higher education despite less funding
Less funding, more state expectations and perhaps even more central planning could be on the horizon for Missouri’s higher-education landscape. Recent months have been marked by a state audit that concluded that the usual steps for funding four-year institutions are “disjointed,” and by a summit meeting at which Gov. Jay Nixon called for a statewide review of all academic programs, for a new funding scheme, and for more collaboration among the state’s two-year and four-year institutions.
-
Joplin woman continues fundraising for MDA
Regular viewers of the annual telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association will likely notice a familiar face today in Stephanie Vaughn. Now 21, Stephanie has been a staple of almost every local MDA telecast since she was born, raising money each year for “Jerry’s kids” with her older siblings,
-
MoDOT makes $1.9 million available to area communities
Municipalities and other government and public agencies in Southwest Missouri have about a month to apply to the Missouri Department of Transportation for a share of the $1.9 million available for projects ranging from bicycle and walking trails to historic preservation efforts.
-
Jo Ellis: Hospital auxiliary plans fundraising sale
Looking ahead to the coming week, you can fill your calendar with several entertaining events taking place in Carthage.
-
Andra Bryan Stefanoni: Volunteers at heart of Pittsburg festival
Walking from event to event on Saturday — the day on which most of the annual Little Balkans Days activities are held — one could not help but see the best resource this community has to offer. Its people.
-
County approves operating plan for storm shelter
Residents of Stella are one step closer to having a safe place to go when severe weather strikes. The Newton County Commission approved a shelter operations plan for a new storm shelter and community center last week.
-
Joplin city staff to pitch softball field bids during Tuesday meeting
A bid to build three basic softball fields without lights and to rough in a fourth field at the Joplin Athletic Complex is slated for council action at a meeting Tuesday.
- More Local News Headlines
-
