Army 2nd Lt. Juan Loera Rogers didn't always grow up in a stable environment.
He moved from house to house, from his home state of Washington to California and back to Washington, living with different family members along the way.
“That was all before the age of 8 or 9,” said Loera Rogers, who graduated from Grand Canyon University in April with his bachelor’s degree in applied management – something he achieved through the Army’s Green to Gold program, a scholarship in which enlisted soldiers earn a higher education degree while serving as cadets in their chosen school’s Reserve Officers' Training Corps program.
After graduation, those soldiers commission back into the Army as officers.
“I had a lot of family hardship with my biological family,” he said, “and ended up pretty much getting taken in by a family from my same high school. … I wouldn’t have graduated from high school, wouldn’t be anywhere – where I am today – without them.”
It was just a month until graduation when he decided to join the military. He would be the first in his family to do so.
“It was a spur-of-the moment thing,” he said. “I didn’t know too much about the Army before I joined.”
He signed up initially to be a cook, only to find out his job choice had expired. It was valid for only 30 days after he signed up, and he was sworn in on the 31st day.
“I had to retake the test and rechoose the job. But doing that allowed me to find a job that had a bonus attached to it, and so ultimately, I chose to be a carpenter.”
Loera Rogers enlisted as a carpentry and masonry specialist, though he had zero carpentry skills.
“Basketball was really my goal. Initially, my plan was to just do three to four years in the Army and then walk onto a college and play basketball after. So the job didn’t really matter. … But I ended up loving it. I was able to do a lot of cool construction jobs all over the world.”
He started his Army carpentry career in the 100% humidity of Louisiana for three years before heading to Germany after re-enlisting, then to Wisconsin, where he received orders to serve as a recruiter.
During his time in the Army, he took advantage of every leadership opportunity he could, including specialized weekslong and monthslong leadership training. That's when he realized he had potential as a leader. Loera Rogers said he didn’t really know before the Army that he had those skills.
But, “looking back on everything that I’ve been through, I’ve always had people kind of gravitate toward me. So when I was in leadership positions and kind of got the structure of the Army, I really excelled in those positions. Really, that’s where I found my purpose. I was trying to lead people to just be better than they think they can be and show them that they have more than they think they can offer.”
Loera Rogers, who didn't always have stability in his life or a clear passion, found his leadership style and discovered his calling in the Army.
It’s not something he could have foreseen after signing up to be a carpenter.
“A lot of people just stay within their lane,” Loera Rogers said. “I just wanted to kind of show them different opportunities.”
It was while Loera Rogers had transitioned into serving as a recruiter – an assignment he didn’t expect; he had wanted to be a drill sergeant – that he learned about the Green to Gold program.
He put a packet together, applied and hoped for the best. He was selected but couldn’t find a college that would accept all the credits he earned in the Army until he found GCU.
So he went from Wisconsin winters to Arizona summers.
He loved all the volunteer events he was a part of as a cadet in GCU’s Army ROTC, putting in at least 20 hours a semester.
“I got to do the prayer at God Bless America Night for the basketball team,” he said. “Just cool opportunities like that.”
And, of course, he completed his degree, going from an enlisted soldier to an officer in the Army, commissioning as a second lieutenant.
That also led to a new military career path, which is "where my excitement and thrill (grew)," he said. He was one of only about 40 cadets out of 6,000 selected for this career path, one that can’t be disclosed for security reasons.
Loera Rogers, who’s still assigned to GCU’s Army ROTC, is on campus a couple of days a week until he starts his certification training for his new post. He expects it will be sometime in July. He hopes to get to his first duty station in 2027.
“I’m very thankful for my enlisted experience prior to ROTC,” he said. “But if there’s any college student that has any inclination of wanting to travel, wanting to branch out – do something different – I think they should at least give ROTC a chance.
“You’re going to learn a lot of new skills. You’re going to meet a lot of new people from all over the world … They’ll learn a lot about themselves.”
GCU Manager of Internal Communications Lana Sweeten-Shults can be reached at [email protected].
**
Related content:
GCU News: New officers relished path to commissioning
GCU News: Army ROTC reinforces 9/11 remembrance
GCU News: ROTC cadets show commitment in contracting ceremony
