CHARLESTON, SC – The average cadet student-athlete at The Citadel is anything but average. They're members of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. They go to class. They compete against the best the Southern Conference has to offer.

And for some, that's not enough. Many cadet student-athletes take an even less traveled path by majoring in unique or tough fields of study. Some come from unique backgrounds that make the already difficult even more so. And still others contract into the armed forces and have to prepare for their careers in the military after college.

The Citadel Department of Athletics wants to recognize some of those cadet student-athletes who are not just succeeding in competition, but are doing so at a high level while overcoming some of the toughest obstacles.

Joshua Roides (Sr., Caledonia, N.Y.)
Sport: Football
Major: Physics (3.78 GPA)
Contract: Army

Why did you choose to major in physics?
JR – "I picked physics because it's a pretty general major, especially if you're into technology or really any industry. I want to get into quantitative finance and physics has a good crossover into that, and I didn't want to just do engineering or anything like that."

What led you to contacting with the Army?
JR – "I have always had respect for the armed services. I wanted to do something bigger than myself, and pick up those connections and life skills you can only get in the military as well. I picked the Army over the Navy because I'm colorblind. That was the indicator for me and the Army department here has been great, I feel like it's one of the best in the country."

What do you plan to do in the Army with your physics degree?
JR – "Right now I'm headed into the Army Reserves as a finance officer, which is a little different than what I want to do in the 'real world,' but there's still plenty of cross over as far as working with monetary policy, budgeting and things like that. Obviously, there's no direct correlation between budgeting and physics, but I think what I have learned so far will definitely help me, at least with the math side of things."

Talk about your experience with creating a formula
JR – "Everything is connected in some way, some manner. A lot of the physics models you see, especially in tides or nuclear physics, go directly into how stocks move in the stock market, so you can model them in the same way and you can do similar analysis. I'm in a climate class right now, and I've turned it into a quantitative finance class because sometimes it's easier to describe a stock price versus the pressure changes in a local area. So, every skill I learn in physics, somewhere down the line, it'll show up in finance at some point. I'm doing my senior research project on tides, and I'm measuring the tides around the Ashley River using a bunch of data points to try to further predict when flooding will happen, and the same thing happens in the stock market or any asset class for that matter."

Outside of your classes, what are you doing to prepare for your career?
JR – "I've been to New York City a few times and had chances to talk to alumni there. A lot of them, especially our alumni around New York were in the military for at least a little bit, and then shifted their way to Wall Street. I think that has put them in a better position because you deal with stress more. The connections have been great. I've looked at The Citadel's endowment fund in Richmond, Virginia to see how they manage an actual fund. I've been all over the place and been interviewed in lots of different places."

Talk a little more about juggling all of your responsibilities with being a student-athlete on the football team and your class schedule.
JR – "I firmly believe that I am one of the busiest cadets on campus. You might not see it, but I have had to juggle between going to football practice, Army PT (physical training), Army lab, football workouts in the mornings, other classes and labs. Because of our football training schedule, we have our designated lab days on Monday, but I have almost always had three physics labs to take each semester and they are later in the week, so I'm trying to run out of class to make football practices. On Thursdays, you add in Army stuff. I've really had to work closely with both departments. The football staff knows that there are some events I really have to be at for the Army, and the Army Department knows there are some events I really have to be at for football, especially when it comes to PT. I feel like the football PT is a little harder. It's just juggling everything because you're always going to have conflicts when you're involved with three different things. I have really gotten some great practice at time management and on my communication skills. Everyone only wants the best for you."

Talk about being made the face for the football team's social media.
JR – "It's honestly been great. It's helped me personally. It's been a great conversation starter with potential employers. It really shows that I'm not just a physics major nerd. I can actually talk to people and be funny. I've really gotten to know a lot of people, even within the Corps, just because of it. The Physics Department is so small, it has introduced me to more than just there. The Army Department loves it. They love to joke with me about it. It's been really great."

What is one thing that you will remember down the road about your time at The Citadel?
JR – "I think the biggest life-changing thing was being made the face of The Citadel football social media. It's set me up with so many different people. I have alumni sending me mail all the time, which was great. Piggy backing off that would be the connections. I plan to stay in contact with all of my coaches and the people from the Army and Physics Departments, as well as all of my professors. Obviously, my fellow cadets have been great. They are what make this school so much different than anywhere else because they go through all the similar struggles as you and one day we are all going to look back on it and say, 'We can do anything.'"


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