Molli Flood ’19
Music
Sherman, TX
Meet Molli Flood. This Air Force ROTC Cadet is literally shooting for the stars with the prospect of becoming a commissioned officer and pilot in the United States Air Force.
“For the entire last decade of my life, I’ve wanted to be in the military. My dad was a Marine, so I was always raised with a sense of military pride and support. I got involved with a cadet organization named Civil Air Patrol, which teaches you about the Air Force through drills, search and rescue operations and volunteer work. I was so passionate about what I learned and could do as a pilot, so ROTC just seemed like the next natural step for me.”
Molli, a student enrolled in the Music Department at UTSA, juggles between being trained to serve her country one day through the ROTC Program and also satisfying a passion for music.
“The ROTC Program at UTSA is a gateway program where they take you as you are when you start college and then, by the time you graduate, they help you reach and fulfill all of the physical, academic and field training requirements to get an Air Force commission. It’s basically a guaranteed job after graduation.”
Molli’s passion and love for the piano and violin was fueled by her unwavering persistence to delve deeper into the art of making music.
“My entire life I’ve pursued music my own way. I grew up poor so there wasn’t really an opportunity for me to take music lessons. As a child, I developed my own notation system and would write songs. From there, I taught myself how to read notes and play the piano. It wasn’t really until middle school that I was able to afford piano lessons and I did this by cleaning my teacher’s house.”
Molli has faced by several large life obstacles. These include personal growth, financial hardship, deciding on the right major and focusing on her pursuit and love of music. After three years, this determined Roadrunner auditioned for UTSA’s music program and was accepted, which opened her eyes to a world that showed her any obstacle can be overcome with persistence and passion.
Molli is very active in UTSA’s music department, “I started out studying just piano, but now I focus on the research side of music. I participate in the COLFA Research Conference, Creative Inquiry Showcase, UTSA Music Theory Club and UTSA Technology Club.”
From finding ways to pay for piano lessons in high school to now competitively creating research projects that show how music can help create empathy for individuals with PTSD and Autism, Molli is the perfect example of a Roadrunner that acts on her passions and refuses to give up.
Advice that Molli has for incoming freshmen is, “College is absolutely what you make of it. There are so many hidden gems here, especially within the organizations and clubs. Don’t be afraid to branch out to find and do what you love.”