The second lieutenants in the South Carolina Army National Guard made five flights from an airfield in West Palm Beach, Fla., to Freeport, Bahamas, in September, delivering more than 500 pounds of toiletries, tents and food.
“It was definitely good to do a little bit to help,” says Sanford. “Finding people to transport supplies was harder than collecting them. Churches and other groups had donated so much. Whole hangars were filled with bottles of water and other supplies. The experience also gave us flight hours.”
Sanford, who participated in ROTC at Wofford for four years, earned his pilot license while he was in college. In January, he will begin two years of training at Fort Rucker, Ala., to learn to fly Apache helicopters.
“They’re the coolest thing that flies,” says Sanford. “Becoming an Army pilot and flying Apaches is a childhood dream.”
According to Sanford, both Simon Stricklen, Wofford’s ROTC enrollment and scholarship officer, and Dr. Boyce Lawton, dean for student success, played pivotal roles in making that dream a reality. He also says the ROTC experience at Wofford helped him make the most of his four years at Wofford.
“Pairing ROTC with a regular college experience allows you to have leadership roles amongst your peers,” says Sanford. “Because of ROTC, I had more responsibilities and more obligations, but that helped me stay engaged and focused.”
By Jo Ann Brasington ’89