Schuyler McCullough

Schuyler McCullough, who comes from a military family, planned to enlist in the Air Force straight out of Stoneham High School, with the goal of becoming a helicopter pilot.

“I just wasn’t a fan of school,” says McCullough, whose junior and senior years of high school were during the “COVID years.”

But her mother did some research and informed McCullough that, to become a military pilot, she would first have to become an officer. And the best way to do that was to get a college degree while also joining the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).

McCullough agreed and enrolled at Salem State University as a business major. She did so well as a first-year student that the commander of Air Force ROTC (AFROTC) Detachment 345, which is based at UMass Lowell but includes Salem State and a dozen other schools in the area, offered her a full-ride scholarship to come to UML.

As a senior, McCullough achieved the rank of Cadet Colonel in the AFROTC and served as the squadron’s commanding officer. At Commencement and her commissioning ceremony, she also achieved a first for her family: becoming an officer. 

“Everyone has been enlisted,” she said. “I’m a first-generation officer.”

Along the way, McCullough changed her major to meteorology after considering different STEM degrees. The more classes she took, the more she enjoyed it, she says.

“I just picked meteorology because it sounded cool, and I ended up falling in love with the major,” she says.

And although the AFROTC gave her scholarships to take flying lessons, she ultimately decided not to train as a pilot. Instead, she will serve as an Air Force Weather and Environmental Sciences Officer.

McCullough’s first posting is at Kapaun Air Force Base in Germany with the 21st Operational Weather Squadron. Once she’s completed her technical training, she will serve as a staff duty officer, supervising enlisted service members who produce weather and atmospheric hazard forecasts for 80 U.S. bases in Europe and Africa. 

McCullough says that her UMass Lowell mentors – Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Chair Jeffrey Basara and Professor Frank Colby, and Air Force Major Clayton Eilert, an assistant professor of aerospace studies – have encouraged her and prepared her for the role.

So has the experience of serving as squadron commander, as she strove to emulate Eilert’s style of leadership.

“This position was forcing me to learn to delegate and trust the team going through those tough decisions,” she says. “ROTC is a learning environment. You don’t necessarily have to perform totally awesome.”

AFROTC offered McCullough opportunities she might otherwise have struggled to afford, she says, including a great education and a pathway to a full military career. She also gained opportunities for leadership training, service and networking through the Arnold Air Society, an honorary aerospace organization for which she served as region commander. 

ROTC also gave her a community on campus and beyond.

“I’ve gotten a lot of very good friends out of it,” McCullough says. “ROTC was a lot of fun.”

Note: The use of these photos does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense or by any branch of the military, including the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Space Force.