Brianna Armstrong, ROTC Operations Manager.
MANHATTAN.EDU / COURTESY
Otito Maduegbuna, Contributor
Brianna Armstrong, a Manhattan University employee, was recently awarded as a Top Performer for her work with the Air Force ROTC program while Captain Ryan Smith was awarded Top Instructor within the program for his work teaching and guiding the cadets of MU’s Detachment 560.
According to manhattan.edu, “Brianna played a pivotal role in enhancing cadet recruitment, training, and operational efficiency; dedicated numerous hours to conducting 18 orientation and information sessions; and successfully executed 1,000 checklist items to onboard 79 new cadets leading to the detachment’s largest incoming class. Leveraging technology, she implemented artificial intelligence programs to create 13 cadet enrollment guides and validate instructional program codes across 15 institutions.”
Armstrong beat out a multitude of other candidates across the 37 various ROTC detachments across the Northeast. Her dedication, work ethic and overall value to MU’s AFROTC program was echoed by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Nova, an Air Force officer and head of Detachment 560.
“She’s very strong-minded and innovative, and she was able to make something that was already good, into something that’s been absolutely great,” Nova said. “She’s a champion of continuity and developing programs and processes that just streamline our ability to execute the mission. I’m actually down two bodies, and she’s fulfilling a role of what we call a noncommissioned officer, and she’s doing it like she’s been doing it for twenty years. It’s pretty incredible.”
This same commitment and work ethic that won Armstrong the award has also touched Lauren Underwood, a senior psychology major and a member of Detachment 560.
“I swear this woman is like magic,” Underwood said. “Every time I’m having an issue, no matter what it is, I always know I can send her an email and she’s like ‘no problem’, and then it’s fixed. I don’t know how she did it, I don’t know what’s going on, but all I know is that it’s fixed. She’s a fantastic person to work with.”
Smith, prior Air Force enlisted and current officer, is a senior instructor within the ROTC program teaching cadets in the classroom and mentoring ROTC based clubs, beating out the 37 other candidates across the Northeast’s AFROTC program. Smith worked with cadets in the classroom, teaching them Air Force history and guidance in applying the academic lessons provided to them in real-world scenarios.
“He is an absolute extrovert type,” Nova said. “He commands a room. When he speaks, people listen. It’s evident one of the reasons he won this award is because of his ability and his confidence and his ability to communicate to this generation of students. His passion is to teach.”
Underwood echoed these praises and touched on Smith’s ability to connect with cadets in the classroom and prepare them for future military service.
“He does such a great job of letting you learn,” Underwood said. “He isn’t saying, ‘This is my way you need to follow exactly what I’ve done’. He’ll be like ‘Hey, here’s some feedback. Maybe try it this way.’ He’s very collaborative and very personable. He makes you feel heard.”
The members of ROTC emphasized the value that both of these individuals brought to the program and the value they continue to provide for their efforts.
“It’s impressive how well Manhattan University has prepared these people of character for the workforce, especially someone so young like Brianna,” Nova said. “There are people that she competed against that have been doing this for forty years. The captain is an inspiration to the cadre and the cadets, and he’s even invited by the professors to go into their classrooms for the betterment of the community. Both of them go way above and beyond what is required, and that’s why they’re recognized as being the best.”
Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Lovas, an Air Force officer and another senior member of Detachment 560, also spoke on the importance of what Armstrong and Smith had to offer to both the university and the program in an email to The Quadrangle.
“Capt. Smith and Ms. Armstrong earning these awards at the Northeast Region (NER) and Air Force ROTC levels serves to highlight their excellence among the 37 detachments in the NER, and the 145 detachments – encompassing over 1,100 colleges and universities across the nation – throughout all of AFROTC, respectively, and honors their commitment to educating, training, inspiring, and supporting future leaders for our nation,” Lovas wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “Detachment 560 is fortunate to have cadre members as dedicated and capable as Ryan and Brianna.”