Vanderbilt Army ROTC Cadet Earns Membership in Honor Society

Belmont junior and Army ROTC Cadet Amanda Barfield was recently honored for her strong academic performance by admission into Alpha Chi, a national college honor society. The highly selective society is reserved for the top 10% of juniors, seniors, and graduate students at 300 academic institutions across the country.

“Alpha Chi’s motto is “making scholarship effective for good” and it is the highest honor a Belmont student can receive,” noted Dr. Martha Buckner, the director of Belmont’s undergraduate nursing program. “Alpha Chi exists to promote academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students. Amanda exemplifies these ideals…and will be a tremendous asset to those she serves in her future practice and to the discipline of professional nursing.”

“It is nice to have all your hard work recognized by such a prestigious society,” Cadet Barfield said. “I have worked hard to maintain good grades.”

Professor Keary Dryden, one of Cadet Barfield’s clinical instructors, has observed her hard work in the classroom. “I believe that Amanda will strive to do her best in all areas of her education – both nursing and ROTC,” Professor Dryden said.

Cadet Barfield, a Nashville native, was homeschooled throughout high school and attended Santa Monica College before transferring to Belmont University to study nursing. Upon graduation, she will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Tennessee Army National Guard and plans to continue her civilian nursing career in a Metro Nashville-area hospital while serving in the National Guard. “The [Army] Nurse Corps is very attractive to prospective nursing students and the opportunities provided to you are unmatched,” Barfield said.

The Vanderbilt Army ROTC program has produced a number of highly successful nurses in recent years. Second Lieutenant Hannah Bienhoff, Belmont ’09, was ranked the #1 nursing graduate in the country, while Second Lieutenant Shannon Ellrich, Belmont ’09, was the 5th-ranked nursing Cadet. These rankings were based heavily on overall academic performance. Barfield, Bienhoff, and Ellrich are examples of the high caliber of Cadets who graduate from the Vanderbilt Army ROTC and Belmont nursing programs.

“Belmont Nursing is extremely supportive of its Cadets in the Army ROTC program,” noted Lieutenant Colonel James Wilburn, Professor of Military Science at Vanderbilt. “Amanda’s success comes as no surprise. She is a gifted scholar with exceptional leadership potential. We are fortunate to have her on our team.”