Potential to Be

Megan Brennan

            You stand there looking into a wall with shades of green, and slight shades of brown. The pattern repeats down all of the rows. The faces, although they represent the same values, have different lines and crevices on their skin, which are unique to them and important to the group. Each is an individual, each is part of a team, and each saw within themselves the potential to be and because of that, they are.

            Katie Krach, a freshman here at Stonehill College, came to Stonehill this fall with that potential inside of her. She joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and began a new journey, a new adventure. ROTC requires a lot of time, energy, and focus as the program works to mold young adults into stronger leaders and people. Although this is the case, ROTC is not put in place to fill empty jars; the program works on “developing leadership and managerial potential”, as said in the Stonehill ROTC introduction. The types of students that enter into the ROTC program see a small glow within themselves, in which they then learn how to develop so that they glimmer on the outside.

            An old friend of Krach’s, Caitlin Donnelly, has seen Katie’s potential all along, but its visibility has not always been so clear. In high school Donnelly recalled having to order sandwiches for Krach because she did not want to talk to the people behind the counter. Krach would go from situations like that to taking charge slightly in an environmental club at her high school, where she would take on the role of leader in the manner of sharing and explaining her knowledge about the environment. Donnelly has seen these sparks of potential shoot out of Krach every now and again, but over the course of Katie’s freshman year, Donnelly has seen her potential begin to take form and her independence grow.

            Sophomore and ROTC member, John Smoot, has been Krach’s team leader at points throughout the past school year. He recalls Krach’s personality at the beginning of the year to be quiet, and more or less introverted. After being a part of the ROTC program over her freshman year, Smoot noticed she has begun to open up and fit more comfortably into her own shoes. Now more extroverted, Krach has shown more confidence. During the morning Physical Training (PT) classes that take place three times a week, Smoot said Krach has significantly improved in the fact that she puts herself out there, especially in the sports games, and ends up making some of the most important plays.

            It is harder for Krach to see the change within herself as she has slowly been molded throughout the past two semesters. Although, Krach has been able to see self-improvement in certain lifestyle areas.

            “I am better at organizing my time,” said Krach. Not only that, but Krach proudly mentioned that she could now do thirty-two push-ups, whereas she could only do one at the beginning of the year. At an ROTC award ceremony last weekend, Krach received the Honey Badger award, commending her for her hard work and outstanding success in her physical ability. The potential she saw within herself was not just one of a slight glow of leadership, of strength, but of motivation to work towards something important.

            There is a seed of potential that lies within each human heart, blood pumping through it and nourishing it constantly, but the only water that will make it sprout is your ability to see it laying there. Katie Krach noticed her seed and let it grow.

            “Krach is a really good addition to the team,” said Smoot. “She’s already grown in strides.”