Lane College student honored during commissioning ceremony

JACKSON, Tenn. — One of Lane College’s students has been commissioned into the U.S. Army as a 2nd lieutenant.

The Lane College U.S. Army ROTC Winter 2025 Commissioning Ceremony honored Cadet Julian Smith Wednesday afternoon on Lane’s campus. Smith enlisted in the Army National Guard in 2020, completed basic training and was contracted into cadet command as an Army ROTC cadet.

He completed advance camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Smith talks about his journey that brought him to Wednesday’s commissioning.

“It was times and it was situations where, you know I had to buckle down and ask myself if this is what I really wanted. Do I want to be here and I had to realize very quickly that other people couldn’t want it more than I wanted it for myself,” said Smith.

Smith transferred to Lane College in the fall of 2022 and completed his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on African-American history.

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