Enna Lackey said the first day she stepped onto the Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) campus, she knew her life would be changed for the better.
“My first interaction with GGC was with my softball head coach, Kat Ihlenburg,” recalled Lackey. “She showed me around campus and explained the different programs offered at GGC. I was captivated by the beautiful campus, top-notch athletic facilities and the supporting faculty and staff. I was sold right away. By the end of the day, I knew I wanted to be a Grizzly.”
Lackey was born in Okinawa, Japan and moved to Rincon, Georgia in 2011 with her parents and three older sisters when she was seven years old. She graduated from Effingham County High School in Springfield, Georgia in 2022 and immediately set her sights on GGC, where she could play softball at the college level while pursuing her dream of becoming a U.S. Army soldier through GGC’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program.
The ROTC program can be a full-time endeavor in itself, on top of the class load expected of a full-time student, but Lackey has been determined to join the ranks since she was a child.
“Being a part of the United States military has been an important goal of mine since I was young,” she said. “Pursuing that commitment enhanced my college experience. I was challenged to be loud, assertive and confident. I was setting myself up to be a leader in the biggest branch of the military.”
Add being a player on the college’s competitive softball team and it’s hard to imagine how Lackey had time for it all.
“As a freshman, I was determined to manage my time wisely and not lose sight of where I was,” explained Lackey. “By making these commitments to both the softball team and the ROTC program, two programs that require 100 percent effort, I was forced to understand the importance of balance and time management. At the same time, academics had to be my very top priority because I wanted to succeed for my future self.”
Lackey said her favorite memory from GGC is of living in the dorms her first year.
“That's where I created friendships with my teammates that continue to this day,” she said. “I’ve lived with one of my teammates for four years and that's going to be the hardest goodbye: Moving out of my college home.”
Lackey will graduate with a bachelor’s in political science with a concentration in international relations, a degree that she hopes will give her a leg up and help her understand the ins and outs of government and international affairs as she embarks on a career as a U.S. Army officer.
“My time at GGC went by faster than I imagined,” she said. “Entering my senior year, I knew that I had made my younger self proud by finishing what I started with the same mindset. The biggest lesson I learned over the last four years was not to rush the future but to stay present. I cherished the moments and learned from my experiences, which helped me grow into who I am now.”
After graduation, Lackey will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and become a medical service corps officer.
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