Joshua Ratta ’18

Joshua Ratta ‘18 is a History major with a Russian minor from San Antonio, Texas.  He is the son of Anne and Glenn Ratta.

Joshua is the Commander of Company F-2. Off the Quad he is the Chair of the MSC Wiley Lecture Series, a student-led organization featuring world-renowned speakers discussing thought-provoking topics of global significance.  As a sophomore, he was the organization’s Operations Officer and served as Vice Chair and acting Marketing Director during his junior year.  Joshua has also been involved with the Student Conference on National Affairs, Holiday on the Quad, O.R. Simpson Honor Society, Rudders Rangers and the National History Honor Society.

Since his freshman year Joshua has spent time every summer abroad.  His freshman year he spent Spring Break in Vienna, Austria as part of the Cornerstone Honors program within the College of Liberal Arts. That summer he spent ten weeks in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan studying Russian under an Army ROTC Project Global Officer (GO) scholarship. His sophomore summer he again received a Project GO scholarship and studied Russian in Narva, Estonia for eight weeks.  Joshua also participated in a Corps Excursion to South Africa his junior year. He has leveraged his international experience and Russian language ability to serve as a Teaching Assistant for Russian 101 students this past fall semester.“

My involvement in the Corps of Cadets has been a stepping stone to a vast array of unique experiences. Nowhere else could someone participate in one of the largest and best Army ROTC programs in the nation, interact with world figures, and develop themselves as a leader.  As a first-generation Aggie, I am eternally grateful that my mother suggested I take a look at a college I knew nothing about, because within ten minutes of setting foot on campus my junior year of high school I knew I couldn’t go to college anywhere else.”Joshua will graduate in May 2018 and commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army, where he will serve as an Armor officer. Joshua has been a significant servant-leader to the Corps and the University in his time as a cadet.  I know he will continue to make us all proud in the future as a member of the United States Army. We wish Joshua continued success in all of his future endeavors!