FORT KNOX, Ky. — Everyone has a different reason for wanting to join the Army. Some cadets do it to pay for college, others choose to because they come from a military family and some enlist because it has been a dream of theirs since they were a child.

But for Cadet Brady Race, assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Regiment, Basic Camp, from SUNY Brockport, his reason is different than most — to get his life back on track after losing his biggest supporter.

His mom.

Two years ago, as he was going into his senior year of high school, Race’s mom unexpectedly died due to kidney disease, and the effect that had on him kickstarted his journey down a long, dark path, both mentally and physically.

“I lost probably all [of] my strength. My grades just declined significantly. I probably went from high honors to just any merit role,” he said.

School events that were once fun, lively soccer games became exercises of emotional turmoil whenever he would see his closest friends with their families, while his own was missing a vital piece. Race said that he would wear a shirt dedicated to his mom, which made him too emotional to play his best.

But the turning point that altered his path to lighter roads rested in the hands of the Reserved Officers’ Training Corps. Not only because he learned that the program can help him pay for college, but because his mom always told him that he was the best at one thing in particular — leading others.

And even though his mom’s biggest wish was for him to not join the Army, Race saw ROTC as an opportunity to get his life back on track.

But that was not his only motivation to join. With his step-dad being a Marine and his brother-in-law simultaneously being in the Army and a sergeant in his unit in the National Guard, Race not only wanted to join the Army to lead people, but to also hopefully surpass his brother-in-law’s rank.

“Right now, I have an eight-year contract, but that will most likely change once I contract with ROTC,” he said. “So, my goal is probably captain or colonel.”

Leadership, however, is still the most important thing to him when it comes to the Army, and CST has allowed for him to exercise those skills and lead the way for some of his fellow cadets, whether that be being named the Platoon Leader for certain activities or volunteering to demonstrate how to complete certain exercises for his comrades.

“I want to use that strength to help other cadets, and help any enlisted [soldiers] get and complete the mission,” Race said.

With that hope in mind, his goal is to one day go into the infantry.

“I want to be the first one there so I can help lead others,” Race said. “Make sure the mission [gets] completed smooth[ly] and fast.”

But his future aspirations do not revolve entirely around the Army, but rather his personal life outside of it.

After he commissions, Race wants to stay in the National Guard in order to stay with his girlfriend and start a family young, something he has always wanted to do. The allure of going Active Duty never really appealed to him because of how much moving it would require him to do, and he wants to have a set spot to live whenever he starts a family.

Race might not have planned to join the Army under the circumstances that fell upon him, but he persevered nonetheless. The Army not only was his ticket to getting his life back on track and preventing himself from going down another dark path, but it also allows him to do something more important — make his mom proud.