NROTC is giving Plainfield student a ‘full-ride’ college scholarship

Brooke Anderson always hoped to make the military her career.

She’s now one step closer to her dream.

Anderson, a senior at Plainfield South High School, recently was awarded a four-year, full-ride college scholarship from the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps.

“I always knew I wanted to serve in the military,” Anderson said in a news release from District 202 in Plainfield. “I’ve always loved helping people and being active.”

Anderson leaves May 28 for the new student Indoctrination basic training program in Great Lakes.

She will attend San Diego State University in the fall and study journalism, with the goal of, one day, becoming a public affairs officer for the Marines.

Anderson will also participate in the university’s ROTC program. About 1,200 students across the U.S. applied for the $180,000 scholarship. Anderson is just one out of 12 who received it. She pursued it on her own because Plainfield South doesn’t have an ROTC program, the release said.

The release said Anderson saw the oversized scholarship award check in the Plainfield recruiter’s office and couldn’t believe she’d earned it.

“I remember seeing it and knowing I was competing for it and thinking how bad I want that, and how hard I worked,” Anderson said in the release. “I put everything I had into my training.”

She will be a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps when she graduates from the university, and she expects to serve at least four years in the Marines.

At Plainfield South, Anderson participated in track and the school newspaper. She also assisted with sound and lights for theater productions.

Principal Bob Yanello said in the release that Anderson is an “outstanding student.”

“She is committed to excellence and has always demonstrated her willingness to work hard to achieve her goals,” Yanello said.