Vanderbilt Army ROTC Cadets are Selected for CULP

Five Vanderbilt ROTC Cadets will travel abroad this summer to participate in the Army’s Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency (CULP) Program. The CULP program will stretch their intellect and challenge their current understanding of cultures and cultural awareness skills by immersing them in different societies. The goal of the CULP Internships is to develop culturally competent leaders capable of functioning in the operational environment where they can build upon a base of cross cultural competence with increased regional competence.

Pictured to the right. Front Row: Cadet Sanders – Benin, Cadet Cloum – Rwanda. Back Row: Cadet Rice – Thailand, Cadet Patel – Guatemala, Cadet Colletta - Taiwan.

Cadets participate in projects and missions to enhance and improve their cultural experience. Cadets receive a leadership assessment in at least one squad leader position and participate in pre- and post-deployment language and cultural tests. Immersion in the foreign culture is also accompanied by assigned tours in which the Cadets must develop and present written and oral academic products.

Outcome objectives include: culture and language immersion, increased development of leadership attributes, such as core leader competencies, and academic enrichment.

Cadet Chris Colletta (pictured left) traveled to China during the summer of 2010 and will be traveling to Taiwan this summer. He explains “while vacations get you a quick look at all the sights, CULP provides an opportunity to focus your energy on really getting the most out of spending time developing relationships with the local people. Few people have such an opportunity to delve so deeply into a society so easily”.

Cadet Jessica Sanders is a rising Cadet in the ROTC program who is headed to Benin in hopes of building rapport with Benin’s citizens and military. She says “I am excited about meeting new people, assessing the culture of Benin, interacting with a foreign military, learning and understanding others better, and just taking away amazing experiences”. Cadet Sanders (pictured below) has also had previous experiences with CULP; she was able to visit Slovakia last year and developed a better understanding about the values, beliefs, culture, history, population, and military of Slovakia.

All Cadets unanimously agreed that CULP has played a critical role in the development in their language proficiency skills, placing them above their peers and even other officers in the American military. They are all looking forward to the opportunity to grow professionally and personally in the CULP experience. CULP provides significant opportunities unlike any other military schooling.

If you want to find out how you can attend a CULP trip, stop by the Vanderbilt Army ROTC for more information.