GoArmy.com > For Parents > 2LT Travis Street: Building On A Solid Foundation

BUILDING ON A SOLID FOUNDATION: Travis' mother inspires him to work hard and pursue his dreams.

eading is not something everyone can do. Being a leader means you have confidence in your decisions and are driven to succeed in any situation. Army ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) provides a leadership development experience to students while giving them the freedom to have a balanced college life. When Travis Street enrolled in Army ROTC, he was able to pursue two lifelong dreams — going to college and becoming a U.S. Army Officer.

Photo of 2LT Street on an early morning run

Flash Version

Since Travis was young, his mother raised him to be hardworking, dedicated and independent. Bringing up Travis on her own was tough for Kay, but she never complained; she just wanted to make sure he was raised right, which sometimes meant working three jobs.

Of the many things Travis learned from his mother, one of the most important was to follow his heart. That's what inspired him to enroll in Army ROTC.

It had always been Travis' dream to go to college, as well as Kay's dream for him. But Travis wanted something more than the normal college experience; he wanted to be a leader. Army ROTC is one of the only college courses that teach leadership. When Travis enrolled in ROTC, he found just what he was looking for. Through ROTC classes, he was able to gain hands-on field work and leadership experience without those interfering with his other classes or social life.

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Continue Travis' story >

Photo of Kay Street Travis's mom

Travis: My name is Travis Street. I am a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. I am an Army ROTC graduate.

Kay: My name is Kay Street, and I'm Travis's mom. Travis is an awesome kid; he's an awesome young man; he was raised in a single-parent home, both financially, emotionally, morally. His father was involved in his life but our lifestyles were different and our values were different. So it was challenging sometimes to make him understand that I was the authority figure and that he needed to follow my lead. This was a long hard lesson for Travis to learn. From about 3 years old, I would have to say, "Travis, I'm the boss, I'm the mommy, I'm the mommy." That got repeated a lot in my house.

Travis: I think the most influential thing for my mom was growing up the way she beat back adversity and her being a single mother with absolutely no outside help, kept her complaints to herself and would work anywhere from the age of when I was 10 from 1 to 3 jobs a day. She never really stopped and said this sucks or complained about it, because we were doing what we had to do. I think that's what has affected me the most.

Kay: He's always been the type of young man that kind of thinks out of the box–that was challenging almost to try to make teachers understand that he was very different. I miss him. He was such a huge part of my life. He was my life, he was my purpose, that's what I was here for was to raise him and when he left to go to college, I really got very lost, and probably tried to hang on a little bit too tight.

Travis My mom always instilled in me that I was going to college and that I was going to think higher, break that mind-set and not to settle. But I think my mom's proud that I'm always trying to improve and that I didn't just settle for what was given to me. I've always wanted to be in the Army. I've always wanted to be an Officer.