USC ROTC helped Allison Parra find confidence — and her calling

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Allison Parra faced one of the toughest challenges of her military career not long after graduating from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts: the Army’s Sapper Leader Course.

The elite combat-engineering school, often compared to Ranger School for Army engineers, is known for its punishing physical demands and sleep deprivation along with leadership evaluations. Students carry heavy loads over long distances while operating under intense pressure.

Parra arrived nearly convinced she wouldn’t make it. “There’s no way I pass this,” she recalls thinking.

At one point, after being required to repeat part of the course, she considered quitting. Sick, exhausted and physically depleted, she felt she had reached her limit. But a fellow soldier offered some simple advice: “Quit tomorrow.”

The next day, she stayed. Then she stayed another day. And another, until she graduated.

The confidence to attempt the course, Parra says, was built over years of encouragement from leaders who pushed her to take on difficult challenges, including USC Army ROTC mentors who continued to support her long after she commissioned.

The experience left her physically depleted but emotionally stronger. “I definitely proved to myself that I may not be the smartest. I may not be the most athletic. But if I set my mind to something, I’m going to accomplish it,” she says.

A confidence boost leads to USC and ROTC

Parra, who graduated from USC Dornsife in 2024 with a psychology degree, grew up in a military family, moving frequently before eventually settling in San Diego. Her parents served in the Air Force. Her grandfather fought in Vietnam. And her sister serves in the Army today.

Military service always felt like a near certainty. College, on the other hand, did not.

As a teenager, Parra struggled academically. Her grades suffered during her freshman year of high school, and she began to see herself as someone who simply wasn’t good at school.

Then she moved with her mother to Arizona for a year, where the high school used a different curriculum that fit her better. For the first time, she excelled academically, earning a 4.0 GPA, and she discovered a newfound confidence.

“I was told at a young age that I wasn’t good in school,” she says. “Then the second I was told, ‘No, you’re doing a good job,’ I wanted to ride that wave.”

The experience altered the trajectory of her life.

Though she nearly enlisted after high school, Parra instead applied to college. USC had long been her dream school, thanks in part to her father’s lifelong enthusiasm for Trojan football.

Army ROTC made attending USC financially possible. But Parra says the program ultimately became much more than a scholarship. While exploring ROTC opportunities, she found herself drawn to USC’s program because of the support she received from its cadre and recruiters.

“They really guided me along in the process and were always there to help me with anything I needed,” she says.

Over the next four years, ROTC became one of the places where Parra learned to lead. Alongside her coursework, she developed decision-making skills and resilience expected of future Army officers.

Just as important, she found strong mentors, and years after she graduated, they remain trusted sources of advice and encouragement for her.

“Having these people in your back pocket when you’re going through something tough,” she says, “they can definitely help you out.”

USC’s ROTC programs are administered by the USC Price School of Public Policy, and any undergraduate at the university is eligible to apply.

USC launched its support of America’s military in 1914, when it opened a training school for U.S. Army officers. It began hosting ROTC in the 1940s. Graduates include highly decorated military and civilian leaders, such as four-star generals, astronauts, Medal of Honor recipients, and top-level government officials.

USC Dornsife ROTC student finds her footing as a leader

Parra arrived at USC planning to study biology and eventually attend medical school but soon found herself drawn toward psychology. The major proved to be a natural fit as she dove into human behavior and mental health, guided by USC Dornsife scholars.

She gained lessons outside the classroom, as well. A lifelong rugby player, Parra sought out the USC team hoping to join but discovered the program had fizzled. So she contacted alumni, recruited players, worked through university approvals and secured practice space. Eventually, the team returned.

The effort reflected a pattern that would define much of her time at the university. Whether serving as president of the rugby club, managing the men’s rugby team or helping lead USC’s Barbell Club, Parra repeatedly stepped into roles that required her to create opportunities rather than wait for them.

“I feel more purpose when I’m involved in making decisions for something that I truly care about,” she says.

Now, as a platoon leader responsible for 33 soldiers, she draws on her USC experiences daily. “I think it really helps me today, dealing with soldiers and interacting with them on a day-to-day basis,” she says.

Early in her post-USC career — and looking forward

At 24, Parra is still deciding exactly where her career will lead.

She hopes one day to join the Army’s specialized 911th Technical Rescue Engineer Company, an elite unit trained to respond when disasters leave people trapped in collapsed buildings and other dangerous environments.

She says she also hopes to return to USC Army ROTC to help guide future generations of leaders as her mentors helped her.

For now, though, she’s focused on the soldiers entrusted to her care. She says she sees connections between the struggling student she once was, the USC graduate she became and the Army officer she is today. Each challenge taught the same lesson: Confidence doesn’t arrive all at once — sometimes it grows one challenging day at a time.