NORTH CAROLINA: Coming Out May Cost ROTC Student $80,000

Now that she has submitted a letter to them formally revealing that she is gay, the ROTC may force University of North Carolina senior Sara Isaacson to repay nearly $80,000 in tuition scholarships.

Isaacson, 21, said she thought the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was unfair years before she realized she was a lesbian and realized she had the option of hiding her sexual orientation. But she said misleading others would go against the Army's values. "It really came down to my integrity," she said. "That was the most important thing to me." Lt. Col. Monte Yoder, the head of North Carolina's ROTC program, said the Army is losing a "great young American" because of Isaacson's decision to hand him a letter formally declaring her sexuality. He said he gave Isaacson a chance to withdraw her letter - a step he could take because Isaacson isn't technically in the military, Yoder said. "She could have served if she wanted to," he said, adding that Isaacson's decision to present the letter meant "she didn't want to be part of the ROTC anymore."

Isaacson's goal is to be an Army doctor like her grandfather.