The experience left her physically depleted but emotionally stronger. \u201cI 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\u2019m going to accomplish it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
A confidence boost leads to USC and ROTC<\/p>\n
Parra, who graduated from USC Dornsife in 2024 with a psychology<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Military service always felt like a near certainty. College, on the other hand, did not.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t good at school.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI was told at a young age that I wasn\u2019t good in school,\u201d she says. \u201cThen the second I was told, \u2018No, you\u2019re doing a good job,\u2019 I wanted to ride that wave.\u201d<\/p>\n The experience altered the trajectory of her life.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s lifelong enthusiasm for Trojan football.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s program because of the support she received from its cadre and recruiters.<\/p>\n \u201cThey really guided me along in the process and were always there to help me with anything I needed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Just as important, she found strong mentors, and years after she graduated, they remain trusted sources of advice and encouragement for her.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving these people in your back pocket when you\u2019re going through something tough,\u201d she says, \u201cthey can definitely help you out.\u201d<\/p>\n USC\u2019s ROTC programs<\/a> are administered by the USC Price School of Public Policy<\/a>, and any undergraduate at the university is eligible to apply.<\/p>\n USC launched its support of America\u2019s military in 1914, when it opened a training school for U.S. Army officers. It began hosting ROTC\u00a0in 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s rugby team or helping lead USC\u2019s Barbell Club, Parra repeatedly stepped into roles that required her to create opportunities rather than wait for them.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel more purpose when I\u2019m involved in making decisions for something that I truly care about,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Now, as a platoon leader responsible for 33 soldiers, she draws on her USC experiences daily. \u201cI think it really helps me today, dealing with soldiers and interacting with them on a day-to-day basis,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Early in her post-USC career \u2014 and looking forward<\/p>\n At 24, Parra is still deciding exactly where her career will lead.<\/p>\n She hopes one day to join the Army\u2019s specialized 911th Technical Rescue Engineer Company, an elite unit trained to respond when disasters leave people trapped in collapsed buildings and other dangerous environments.<\/p>\n She says she also hopes to return to USC Army ROTC to help guide future generations of leaders as her mentors helped her.<\/p>\n For now, though, she\u2019s 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\u2019t arrive all at once \u2014 sometimes it grows one challenging day at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. Army 1st Lt. Allison Parra faced one of the toughest challenges of her military career not long…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":887802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,2961,224,5337,1802,1737,276800],"class_list":["post-887801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-military","tag-psychology","tag-rotc"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116801157557708371","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/887802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Young](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/allison-parra-rotc-instory-a-500x382.jpg\")
USC Dornsife alumna Allison Parra built perseverance through her ROTC and active-duty military training. (Photo: Courtesy of Allison Parra.)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Group](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/allison-parra-rotc-instory-b-500x382.jpg\")
Allison Parra, far right, and the USC rugby team she reestablished. (Photo: Courtesy of Allison Parra.)<\/p>\n