by CACC Capt. James Colbert
June 23, 2023
CAMP SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Excited for today’s corps of cadets and nostalgic for their time in the corps, two California Cadet Corps alumni recently visited the ongoing 2023 CACC Summer Encampment here on June 23. Brittany Tarula, 22, now a senior at the University of La Verne, and Stacy Bencomo, 23, a recent graduate of the University of California at Riverside, both credit the CACC for their collegiate success.
Both Tarula and Bencomo attended the California Military Academy in Perris, California, where they became CACC cadets in the 7th grade. Summing up her time in the Cadet Corps, Tarula said, “It gave me a lot of experiences, especially regarding teamwork and dealing with obstacles in general. There are a lot of leadership skills that come into play and learning how to deal with situations and applying those lessons learned to future life.”
In fact, neither Tarula nor Bencomo initially wanted to become cadets. “It started off as me not really wanting to be there and not really caring for the military aspects,” Tarula said. “But as time went on, I learned that it's really about the valuable experiences and connections you make. It ended up being a good experience all around.”
“One of the only ways to get better at something is to fail at that thing first,” Bencomo said. “The cadet leaders and the adult Commandants want to help you learn from those failures so that you can grow as a person. It felt literally life-changing that somebody was there to help me learn from failure.”
For Bencomo, the agency she developed over her six years in the Cadet Corps was a hugely beneficial, but not expected, outcome. “I think experiencing heavy responsibility in the Cadet Corps helped me care more and develop a deeper connection to why things matter and how they apply to me so that I could develop leadership skills. Because of that, I was able to do the things that I have done and continue to develop into a much better citizen and person.”
Bencomo had risen to the rank of cadet major by the time of her high school graduation. “I felt pride at having developed as a leader and felt joy when helping others develop their own sense of leadership.”
The transition to college life was made easier than it might have been because of the personal growth they experienced during their time in the Cadet Corps. “I applied my Cadet Corps experience to all the challenges I faced, Tarula said. “I had a good handle on how I should be dealing with challenges and how I should set my priorities.”
Tarula is in her final year of a legal studies program with plans to attend law school and eventually become a practicing attorney while Bencomo earned a bachelor of science in Biology with Honors and is in the process of applying to a Physician Assistant program.
As young adults now in their early twenties, these alums have advice for today’s middle schoolers: “If there's even a little bit of you that would like to join the Cadet Corps, you should do it. There's no other place where you can get the opportunities that you would get here,” Bencomo said. “Yes, it's going to be hard and even nerve-wracking at times, but you'll gain so much experience and there will be so much help for you. Don't be afraid to do what you feel is right for yourself and you'll get to where you need to be in the end.”