Fort Knox, Ky.- Each cadet has their own reason for joining ROTC. For some it is to learn how to become a leader, for others it is to honor their country. However, for Cadet Jessica Hackenbruch from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, assigned to 7th Regiment, Advanced Camp,  joining ROTC means not only gaining these skills, but following in her siblings footsteps.

Hackenbruch is the youngest of her two siblings who have both gone through ROTC. Now, her older siblings are both captains in the Army. While this may seem like a lot of pressure as both a little sibling and cadet, Hackenbrunch says her siblings are why she wants to be a leader.

“I’m definitely trying to not be the sibling that fails because they are just absolutely fantastic people,” said Hackenbruch. “They’re doing great in their career, and I just want to follow in their footsteps and they’re my role models.”

While this legacy of serving is important to Hackenbruch as a member of her family, she said it is also equally important to her as an individual.

After graduation Hackenbruch hopes to branch into the Army Judge Advocate General Corps because it is a mix of both her passions: law and serving.

“I took a poli-sci class my freshman year, and I just fell in love with it and I’ve taken five classes since then,” she said. “I didn’t actually have the plan before I went to college, but once I took that class, and then I learned that you could do it in the military, I switched my track.”

While this is a future goal, Hackenbruch acts as a leader now by motivating others in her squad.

“I’m a big believer in morale and I think morale and supporting other people makes them perform better,” she said.

“I want to be a good leader because it brings pride to myself, I want to help other people,” she said. “ I really just want to make people the best that they can be and being in a leadership position really accentuates that.”