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Name: Ashley Kerr
Hometown: Cottage Grove, MN
School: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Major: International Studies
MS Year: MS IV
Ashley Kerr is an MSIV in the Badger Battalion and a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a degree in International Studies. CDT Kerr grew up in Moorhead, MN (near Fargo, ND), but moved to Cottage Grove, MN when she was in the fifth grade. CDT Kerr has three sisters with two older twin sisters and a younger sister. Her father is a retired Colonel from the MN National Guard and now works as a civilian Chief Planner for the MN National Guard while her mother works at the League of Minnesota Cities as a worker's compensation claims processor.
CDT Kerr's father recommended that she try Army ROTC during her freshman year of college, but CDT Kerr had recently enlisted, completed Basic training and AIT, and wasn't sure she wanted to be an officer at that time. After deploying to Iraq in 2005, CDT Kerr returned to school and realized ROTC was a great opportunity as it allowed her to continue her degree while furthering her career in the Army. 
ROTC has provided CDT Kerr with an opportunity to study leadership and to practice leading others, a skill that she believes will be invaluable in her future. At the same time, CDT Kerr enjoys that the program honors ethos and values that are unique from other leadership opportunities on campus. Throughout her three years with the Badger Battalioin, CDT Kerr rose among the ranks, competing on and captaining the Ranger Challenge team, earning the Dean's List Academic Award, Platinum APFT Award, and various other accolades, and currently serves as the battalion's Cadet Executive Officer. Her role as XO is not without heavy responsibility though and CDT Kerr recognizes the important role that the cadet leadership plays in the development of the battalion's younger cadets. "What makes this year different from the rest is that many of the other cadets look to the MSIVs for guidance and answers. I feel like this has prepared me well to be a leader and someone soldiers will turn to. I feel like I have become more forward-thinking as a result."
With her graduation and commissioning right around the corner, CDT Kerr reflects on all the time dedidicated to the Badger Battalion family. "The most memorable experience in ROTC reflects the camaraderie of the program; when I look back on my time in ROTC I will always remember the crowded, noisy building and piles of rucksacks at lab every Thursday, and the early mornings at the Shell three days a week." When asked what advice she had for incoming and potential cadets, CDT Kerr had this to say: "The advice I would offer to other cadets or incoming cadets would be that ROTC is a great opportunity. While joining the military is a life decision, it is worth trying ROTC to see if it fits." When her time at the UW and in Army ROTC is complete, CDT Kerr will be moving back to her home state serve as a Military Intelligence officer in the Minnesota National Guard. 
When she's not working hard to train cadets or manage battalion affairs, CDT Kerr likes to travel, run/work-out, read, shop and hang-out with her "Little."
Fun fact about CDT Kerr: She speaks Arabic.