STAR: Cadets help through community service

The University of Guam’s Student Triton Alliance of ROTC, or STAR has been making positive impacts on the community.

Members of this organization have experience from the Reserve Officer Training Corps that enables them with skills to better the community.

With the recent events of natural disasters affecting Guam and the Marianas, many families were left without power, water, and food. Organizations such as the Bank of Guam and Tan Holdings donated money and necessities in an effort to help relieve the victims of Yutu.

UOG’s STAR helped with these efforts by donating goods.

The STAR is a program that helps manage and fund ROTC events. Most importantly, STAR works with multiple clubs to overall help the community.

This club is exclusive to ROTC cadets, who are enrolled in Military Science courses.

STAR’s members volunteer for events such as 5Ks, including the recent “Triple J 5k & 10k Bubble Color Run.” They have also helped out with Agana Shopping Center’s A club, which is an event that rewards students with A’s with different prizes and goodies.

STAR is more than just an organization.

As Jeralyn San Nicolas, a member of STAR explained, “STAR promotes community involvement.”

“The organization’s goal isn’t to fundraise, but to help out other organizations as well,” San Nicholas said.

Yet there are some obstacles that STAR faces. One of the obstacles STAR faces are “hosting events that line up with both the Student Life’s policies along with ROTC Cadet Command policies”, said Lucand Camacho, a member of STAR.

San Nicolas also said the club also faces the challenge of “gaining new members and keeping them active”. There are other clubs to join, social life, and work that continue to make this challenge a difficult one to overcome.

For member, Jeanie Nguyen, the one thing she likes about STAR is “the planning, comradery, and commitment”.

It isn’t easy planning for future events or fundraisers, but “it is well worth it in the end to see everyone’s participation”, Camacho said.

For the next five years, the members hope that the program continues to gain members as well as to further develop a more systematic and organized approach in regard to hosting events.

By the end of their college career, the members, if they fulfill the requirements, will graduate with a Baccalaureate degree and be commission as a second lieutenant into the United States Army.