Army ROTC Grows at Mississippi College

Mississippi College military science Instructors include: Capt. Reginald Brownlee, Sgt. First Class Jacob Carpenter and First Lt. Stuart Doyle.

Jonathan Maruszak of Brandon is the type of student enhancing his leadership skills and earning money for his education thanks to Mississippi College’s Army ROTC program.

A third year law student at the MC School of Law in downtown Jackson, Maruszak got started in the ROTC program in the fall of 2010, and calls it a valuable investment of his time.

ROTC, he said, “has provided plenty of opportunities to develop my leadership skills through the training and mentoring of other cadets.”

A 2004 Brandon High graduate, Maruszak received his undergraduate degree in business at the University of Mississippi before going to MC’s law school and expects to commission in May 2013.

No stranger to military life, his parents both served in the Air Force for 20 years. Within five years, Maruszak expects to become an Army pilot with a deployment under his belt.

MC’s Army ROTC program has seen rapid growth since instructors started teaching the curriculum in fall 2007 with seven students. Last spring, there were 23 students enrolled.

“That is a fantastic increase for our school size,” says U.S. Army Retired Lt. Col. Danny Robbins, who’s the coordinator of Veterans Outreach at Mississippi College.

The Military Science Department at MC has awarded $600,000 in ROTC scholarships since Fall 2007, in most cases paying full tuition for students at the Christian university.

This fall, MC’s veteran outreach and military science programs have stepped up recruitment of students from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, and seeks to bring aboard veteran dependents and others.

In early September, Robbins and other leaders hosted a VA Day, an open house in the Jennings Hall courtyard for Mississippi College students connected to the military, veterans and military dependents using VA educational benefits.

For more information, contact Lt. Col. Danny Robbins at 601.925.7618 or drobbins@mc.edu.