A series of questions and answers with Cadet Brandley J. Reyes. Reyes, who is from Puerto Rico, provided his answers in Spanish, his first language, and English. He is attending The Citadel on an Army scholarship.

Q. If you had to create a headline about your Citadel experience leading up to ring day, what would it say?

A. ¿Se Busca Liderazgo, aceptas el reto?

“Leadership wanted, do you accept the challenge?”

Q. What are your goals as you begin to wrap up your time at The Citadel?

A. Como un aspirante oficial militar en la Guardia Nacional y un hombre de negocios mis metas a corto plazo son recibir mi trabajo de preferencia (aviación en la Guardia Nacional) y en el sector civil obtener una oferta de trabajo en una firma de contabilidad o en compañías como la Boeing.

As an aspiring military officer in the Army National Guard, and a businessman, my short-term challenges are to get my branch of choice for the Army, which is aviation, and in the civilian sector to earn a job offer at an accounting firm or a company such as Boeing. Later, I hope to run for office to serve our society and make changes for the best of all citizens of this country and our future generations.

Q. What one person has been the most instrumental to your success here?

A. Mí comandante de compañía en mi año de “knob”, actualmente el teniente Joshua Scaife, me motivo a esforzarme más y ganarme mi lugar en el Cuerpo de Cadetes. Él También fue un instrumento no solo para mi éxito en esta escuela, sino que también fue la definición de como un cadete de Citadel debe verse.

My company commander in my knob year, who is now Lt. Joshua Scaife, USMC. He motivated me to push myself harder and earn my place within the Corps. He is to this day a role model and helps out people who look for success. He was and is an instrument for success. He was also the definition of what a Citadel Cadet should look like.

Q. How did you grow as a person here?

A. Como persona he aprendido a valorar todo a mi alrededor. Esto incluye comida, tiempo, cabello, dormir, ropa y lo más importante la familia. También crecí en carácter y cómo reaccionar en situaciones estresantes. Asumir responsabilidad por los errores y saber cómo moverse hacia adelante después de aprender de ellos fue algo que aprendí en este lugar y probablemente no aprendería en cualquier otro lugar.

I learned to value everything I had around me. This includes food, time, hair, sleep, clothes and, most importantly, family. It also builds some character for how to react in stressful situations. Being accountable for one’s mistakes and knowing how to move forward by learning from them here was something that, otherwise, I wouldn’t learned. Overall, I feel that the school built my class into future leaders capable of managing problems in the most stressful situations and that we can survive in times of crisis, like not having common luxuries or enough food.

Q. What is your top takeaway from being a member of The South Carolina Corps of Cadets for four years?

A. Lo que me llevare de este lugar es el carácter, piel más dura, madurez, y el compañerismo que se construyó en estos cuatro años largos pero que siempre llevare con orgullo.

My top takeaways will be the character, tougher skin and maturity I gained here as well as the comradery that was built during these four long years in the Corps. I will carry this with pride for the rest of my life.

Q. Why did you choose to attend The Citadel?

A. Escogí al Citadel como mi primera y única opción como Universidad porque sentía un llamado al servicio de nuestra nación y al mismo tiempo sabía que si hubiese escogido otra Universidad hubiera perdido mi tiempo y hubiera estado en muchas fiestas. Quería retarme a mí mismo y las palabras del General Rosa en mi primera semana como un knob “tomar el sendero menos caminado” se quedaran dentro de mi cabeza de por vida y me inspiro a creer que tome la mejor decisión de estudiar aquí y ser un hombre del futuro para nuestra sociedad.

I chose The Citadel as my first and only choice because I had the calling to serve our nation. At the same time, I personally knew that if I chose another college, I would’ve probably wasted my time or partied too hard. I wanted to challenge myself. Like Gen. John Rosa (former Citadel president) said in my first week as a Knob: his phrase “taking the road less traveled” will stay in my head for the rest of my life and inspired me to believe in my choice of attending this school and being a man for the future of our society.

Cadet Brandley Reyes is from Arecibo, Puerto Rico and is majoring in Accounting. He is expected to earn a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army National Guard upon graduation in 2020.