Averi-Alexya Beck, left in May to travel to Honduras.
Beck, a junior at GSU, will be traveling through a program called Cultural Understanding and Leadership Program (CULP) which is sponsored by the United States Army and the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).
The purpose of the program is to allow participants the opportunity to learn about another country’s culture, its military operations and give back to their community. Beck was the only cadet from Grambling State University selected to go and will be learning the different cultural lifestyles in Honduras.
“I heard about CULP when through friend Joseph,” Beck said. “He went to Africa through the program.”
According to the Army ROTC website, through the program the United States Army sends cadets to travel to different parts of the world spending nearly three to four weeks learning about different cultures as well as how the people within that country view the world through their eyes.
Prior to leaving Beck said she was prepared for the 30 day adventure.
“I have ensured I have everything on the packing list,” Beck said. “I have also watched informational videos on Honduras.”
Students within the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps from across the United States are now given the opportunity to compete for application in more than 20 countries such as Morocco, Rwanda, Hungary, Panama, Peru, Botswana, Angola, Honduras, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Chili, Argentina, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal and Mongolia.
These opportunities give cadets the opportunity to practice developing or learning different languages before becoming future officers in the United States Army. The cadets also get to experience different types of cultural outlets within their assigned country.
The people within nation do what they would like to call a military-to-military exchange humanitarian service, and provide education to the local communities within that country.
Every year the Cultural Understanding and Leadership Program sends a group of ROTC cadets to learn and strengthen their relationships within those different countries.
These students are required to participate in host nation military-to-military exchange, humanitarian service and education on the social, cultural and historical aspects of the country. This year the program sent a total of 950 students to 26 different countries to assist Combatant Command security. The program also sent 151 military science instructors with the cadets.
While in their assigned country, cadets usually travel in groups of 11 with one military instructor to visit either civilian agency or non-governmental agency.
“My expectations for the trip are to obtain more knowledge about how Hondurans live,” Beck said. “I also would like to learn some Spanish phrases.”
Beck is a rising senior at Grambling State University majoring in mass communication with a concentration in broadcasting. She is a member of the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps, Grambling State University Television Center, The President’s Student Leadership Initiative, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, Distinguished Black Woman and the National Society of Leadership and Success. 