Oswego State junior goalie Melissa Siegfried is the epitome of multitasking. She balances classwork, starting for the women’s soccer team and also being involved with Oswego State’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.

Siegfried cited her brother as an influence to her joining ROTC, on top of all of her other responsibilities.

Her brother, David, completed his ROTC training at Northeastern University and graduated in 2011. He received his commission and is currently an Engineer Officer at Fort Guber in Oklahoma.

She explained why ROTC means so much to her.

“I always want to protect people and always want to be there for them, and this is my way of showing that I am a leader and that I can help people,” Siegfried said.
With her trio of main responsibilities, Siegfried has managed to balance her time wisely.

“I have to prioritize,” Siegfried said. “When I have free time, I’m doing what needs to be done and not what everyone else is doing, or slacking off.”

She acknowledged that she has to give up on social time in order to make sure she has her future where it needs to be.

Not only does she get inspiration from her family, as her brother went through the same program, but the female pioneers of the Armed Services as well.

“I think it is good that they proved to themselves and every male in the army that we are just as strong as they are,” she said. “When it comes to ROTC, being much younger than the non-commissioned officers, we get a lot of flak for being young kids going on to become officers.”

Despite the fact that she has many activities going on, trust is the key aspect for her every day.

She trusts her teammates in the same manner she trusts her fellow cadets.
She has prioritized very well and puts her responsibilities in the strict order of academics, athletics and then ROTC training.

Often her field training is scheduled at the same time as her games. Although she will miss out on some things, she knows what she has to do to make up for what she missed, no matter what activity it is.

While Siegfried has role models of her own, she wants to inspire other young women who may want to follow in her footsteps. She wants to be seen as a leader to them.

“As long as you put your mind to it, you can do anything you want,” Siegfried said. “If anyone has anything to say about you, use that negativity as motivation to succeed.”

Siegfried is a contracted cadet and will receive her commission as an army officer upon graduation in May 2017, the time she will look to go into Chemical Corps for the United States Army.