July 27, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "When I went to camp, I was confident in my abilities to lead, but a little hesitant in my decision making, because I wanted everything to be carefully calculated and work perfectly," says Nick Lucca, who will be a junior at DePauw University this fall. A story in the Colorado Springs Gazette details the four weeks Lucca spent this summer at the Leader's Training Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
The experience "provided a new summer experience for the 20-year-old Colorado Springs native who attends DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., and is in the ROTC program at Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind.," writes Steven M. Ward. "During the field training he rappelled down a 50-foot tower, jumped into a swimming pool with a ski mask over his face while holding a rifle over his head and got up at 4:30 a.m. every morning for PT, or physical training."
"After a while at camp, I came to realize you couldn’t always calculate what will happen in a mission or what will be thrown at you," Lucca tells the newspaper. "You have to make a quick decision, and, right or wrong, if you look like you know what you’re doing, people will follow what you say."
The article notes that Lucca, who is an economics major, "is heavily involved in sports at DePauw. He has been the goalkeeper for the soccer team, goalie and attack for the club lacrosse team and will be the punter for the football team this fall. So, after his summer military camp, he’s ready to get back to school and continue his leadership development."
Lucca notes, "It’s back to the old grind on Aug. 10. I have football training, school starts, and shortly after, I will be back to ROTC, hopefully in a leadership position, doing what I have quickly come to love and appreciate.”"
Access the full text at the newspaper's website.