May, 2020

Double Duty: Ryann Laky juggles ROTC, academics

by Kristen Lansing

When the early morning light just began to peek through the windows of Lambert Fieldhouse, Ryann Laky stood at attention in her crisply ironed Army ROTC fatigues, thinking, This is my duty station; this is where I’m supposed to be.

Laky wakes up every morning at 0430, goes to ROTC physical training workouts until 0730, sits through four to five hours of classes, and then works at one of her two jobs until 2000.

The proven queen of time management, she is never late, only early. Most full-time Purdue students keep plenty busy by taking 15 credits each semester. Laky clocked a rigorous schedule of 18 credits this semester and 21 last semester.

“In my calendar, I keep everything super strict,” says Laky, a junior food science major from Toledo, Ohio. “So, if it ends at this time, it ends at this time. That’s just it.”

Laky developed this reliable and rigid time-management mindset when she enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard. She’s now contracted into Purdue ROTC, or Reserve Officer Training Corps, a program offered at more than 1,500 U.S. universities to prepare college students for military careers.

The military pays each ROTC cadet’s tuition, which is exactly why Laky enlisted as she needed a way to pay for school. The National Guard Supplemental Grant pays for her tuition and gets her in-state tuition. Her ROTC scholarship covers housing expenses. For all other expenses, she works her two jobs.

Ironically, you can blame the military for the one time Laky was late. Her original plan was to earn her Purdue degree this year, but Army National Guard training delayed that.

“At first, I was worried about graduating a year later than I had expected but realized the value I’m getting, not only from saving money, but also from my time in the military,” she says.

After graduation, Laky will serve at least six years in the Army National Guard. Because she will be a commissioned officer, she must know the Army’s doctrines, history and standards and communicate these to non-commissioned officers responsible for enforcing them.

Until then, Laky continues to study food science and is particularly interested in the biology of food, food genetics and the nutritional value of food. As a food scientist, Laky hopes to contribute to a humanitarian effort to establish food security through food preservation, nutritional additives or food transportation.

She’s been searching for her niche in the food industry, and after attending an industry conference, Laky is confident she’s found it. After military service, she plans to pursue a career in the confectionery industry, which involves the making of candy and sweets.

Laky hopes to work in research and development for a major company, complete her MBA, and then join the management team of a confectionery company.

Purdue University and its ROTC cadet program gave Laky the tools to realize her dreams. They will become her reality, all in due time.


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