Midshipman Mary Brass is just as strong as her name sounds.

Among 82 military officers-in-training in the Naval ROTC battalion at the University of Pennsylvania, Brass is one of the top-performing candidates in the Navy’s twice-a-year physical readiness tests, consisting of push-ups, sit-ups and a 1.5-mile run.

The 20-year-old junior is majoring in mathematics with a concentration in biology at the School of Arts & Sciences.

Originally from Atlanta, Brass lives in Middletown, Pa., and says military fitness is a more of a daily lifestyle not just about passing the readiness tests.

“The beauty of fitness is that it instills mental and physical discipline and endurance,” she says. “The decision to get up and go to the gym instead of hitting ‘snooze’ on the alarm or to run that extra set of stairs up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps is an indicator not just of readiness for the physical fitness assessment but also of the skills necessary to become an officer.”

NROTC midshipmen train together with the battalion three times a week in student-led workouts that usually consist of sprints or callisthenic exercises, like push-ups or squats.

A few times a month, the entire battalion runs three to seven miles. These are Brass’ favorite workouts, because they get to run by Philadelphia’s many historical landmarks, like Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the burial site of the first commandant of the Marine Corps, Maj. Samuel Nichols, at the Arch Street Friends Meeting House.

Brass also works out on her own, running along the Schuylkill River Trail and in Center City. She also lifts weights once or twice a week for strength and conditioning. 

She even conquered a “Tough Mudder,” a multi-obstacle course run, in April and says it was “a blast.”

Brass has held battalion leadership positions in the past, serving as the assistant operations officer and the assistant physical training instructor. This semester, as the Kilo Company Commander, she is charged with training the incoming freshmen class and helping them to make the transition from life as a civilian to life as a midshipman.

“This billet is particularly rewarding because I get to help the incoming class adjust physically, academically and disciplinarily to life as a midshipman and a college student,” Brass says.

One of her favorite parts about NROTC is its summer training program. This past summer, she trained for three weeks aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan. She says the time she spent on an aircraft carrier taught her much about the Navy’s operations.

Brass, who will graduate in 2016, says she hopes to select aviation as a career path. Her next duty station would then be flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.

Brass says that Penn was a natural choice for her because of its academic reputation and historic NROTC program.

“Penn shares a long history with the Navy,” Brass says. “To study naval science in Houston Hall and realize that World War II veterans trained in the very same building is humbling and motivating.”

She says that she can’t imagine life at Penn without being involved in NROTC because it has shaped her work ethic, created meaningful friendships and bolstered her leadership skills.

“I have learned to think outside my own concerns and instead, consider the needs of the other members of the team. I have also learned that I can push myself mentally and physically further than I ever thought possible,” Brass says. “Surrounded by other midshipmen who are working just as hard as you are, it is easier to hold yourself to a higher standard.”

Brass is also a member of Sigma Kappa sorority, serves as a connections leader for the Penn Newman Catholic Community and volunteers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia each Sunday through her church. She says another beneficial lesson from NROTC is time management.

“Most NROTC training takes place early in the morning, which gives you the rest of the day to allocate toward classes, school work, leadership responsibilities, student groups, working out, etc.,” Brass says. “You learn to prioritize and make the most of every moment of your day, whether that means reviewing your Seapower and Maritime Affairs class notes before your biology lecture starts -– or doing sit-ups while your dinner is in the microwave.”