U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Gotie didn’t grow up envisioning a career in military service. Born and raised in Truxton, New York, she imagined a life for herself as a diplomat and as a result became involved with the Rotary International Exchange Program. The program took her to Belgium, then France and Sicily. Soon, she had fallen in love with language and travel.
When she began her college career at SUNY Brockport, she wasn’t thrilled that her parents had signed her up for the school’s Reserve Officer Training Corps program (ROTC.)
“Surprisingly, I was totally hooked, right from the start,” Gotie says. “I loved it, the team environment and incredible experiences that you could only find in ROTC. Looking back, I can’t imagine college without ROTC!”
“9/11 changed everything. My post as a recruiter was over,” says Gotie. “I left a week later for the Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course in Arizona. With 9/11, the focus was military intelligence. When I arrived, the whole military intelligence community was there to strategize.”
During her deployment, she began looking at options for her next assignment. When the Army ROTC program at Syracuse University came up, she was beyond excited.
“I had been far away from home for so long. The opportunity at Syracuse was a dream to see on the screen,” Gotie says. “To be close to my parents as they are getting older and work at an institution with a deep military commitment—I jumped at the chance.”
On Aug. 17, 2019, Gotie deplaned from Afghanistan; within 10 days she was on the grounds of the University’s campus.
For the next three years, Gotie will oversee the University’s Army ROTC program, the longest consecutively running program of its kind in the country. She has plans to put together a course on emotional and cultural intelligence, increase leadership opportunities and set up new internships within U.S. Army Special Operations.
“Syracuse has such an amazing student body and military commitment. The cadets here inspire me and help me remember when I was young and wanted to move mountains,” she says. “It is so gratifying to be mentoring the future leaders of our country, business, and government.”