Nighthawk profiles are a recurring Vanguard feature.
From waking up to the sound of the cannon at 7 a.m., to working hard in her classes the rest of the day, Lizzie Spradlin handles her double life with ease.
Elizabeth Spradlin or “Lizzie” is a senior kinesiology major who is also in the corps of cadets at the University of North Georgia. Spradlin is from Newnan, Georgia and she is planning to graduate this May.
Even though Spradlin has been a cadet at UNG for the past four years, it was never something she planned.
Spradlin said, “I didn’t even mean to sign up for the military program when I came here, I thought I signed up to be a civilian, but then they gave me the paper and I thought I might as well stick with it.”
However, Spradlin says she has learned the fundamentals of being a strong leader in the military. She said, “I think I saw that I have leadership qualities that would help me be successful in my career. Anything I think I am going to be successful in, I try to take on full force and so I think that’s what inspired me to keep going with the corps.”
Lizzie says one of her favorite memories from her cadet years was during her sophomore year when she and her team were forced to go to the field at the ranger camp.
Spradlin said, “It was freezing cold, we were getting rained on all weekend, people were “cold catting” left and right. I hated my life during that time, but I think it put in perspective for me that not everyone was made the same. It made me realize the people that want it and can take it will, and there’s people that cannot take it.”
Apart from her cadet life, Lizzie excels in the classroom as well. Lizzie has been able to maintain both her high social and academic status by using the time the corps gives her to complete her homework assignments. Spradlin said, “The corps has programs in place to allow us to be successful in the classroom by mandating certain hours to work on homework throughout the week.”
This semester Lizzie also works as an intern with the athletic trainers to ensure that she will graduate with a degree in Kinesiology.
When Lizzie is not completing her cadet activities throughout the day she usually likes to workout, hike, hangout with friends and go for runs.
Lizzie says her favorite artist is Lana Del Rey.
After graduation, Lizzie plans on going to Kentucky to help lead UNG’s development and training camp which is hosted at Fort Knox in the summer. Once her time is up in Kentucky, Lizzie will be on active duty for the Army for eight years.
