Amanda Oglesby

@OglesbyAPP

BARNEGAT – One township woman may be the military's next top talent.

Samantha DeCapua, 21, underwent years of physically demanding training, intense course work and military mental exercises to rank fourth in the nation among more than 5,500 ROTC college seniors.

DeCapua, a 2013 Barnegat High School graduate, said she was initially shocked by the ranking.

“It took awhile for me to wrap my head around it," she said by telephone from Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, where she is working on a dual degree in criminal justice and sociology with a minor in gender and women's studies. "You don’t expect to see yourself on that top 10 ranking on all of the cadets."

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DeCapua received bonus points for her involvement on campus and in the community. She is a mentor within the university's honors program in general education, competes in the heptathlon and pentathlon on her school's track and field teams, and was inducted into the Alpha Phi Sigma National Criminal Justice Honor Society. She is also a member of Active Minds, a student organization devoted to breaking the stigma of mental health conditions and has written for the university's digital news website.

She said she developed an interest in the military while still in high school, but she did not join ROTC until college.

"A lot of my experiences at Barnegat High School really helped me," said DeCapua, who said the support she received there as a student and young athlete helped give her direction.

Since joining ROTC, DeCapua has traveled to Albania through the program. There, she performed humanitarian aid with the Peace Corps and worked with foreign leaders and a U.S. ambassador, she said.

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“I’ve gained experiences that I can’t get anywhere else other than the ROTC program," said DeCapua. “I love how challenging it is too, both physically and mentally, and how there’s always this emphasis on leadership and growth.”

“We knew that she was above the average cadet for a while now," said Master Sgt. Robert George of Widener's ROTC program. “The cadets naturally swarmed around her to ask her for advice. ... She stepped up, took lead, she wasn’t afraid to take the initiative to correct things or help the cadets around here.”

ROTC is the largest source of military recruits in the United States, according to a 2013 report from the federal Government Accountability Office. In 2012, ROTC drew more than 9,000 commissioned officers into the military ranks, according to the report.

DeCapua seeks to enter the Army as a helicopter pilot when she starts active duty in 2017.

“This is great for Samantha, and we are riding the coattails, both Widener and ROTC," said Lt. Col. Justin Shaffer, commander of Widener's ROTC program. "I think that it shows we are recruiting really good, young leaders out of high school and out of the college campuses.”

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Amanda Oglesby: 732-557-5701; aoglesby@GannettNJ.com