Report: Stanford impostor fooled the ROTC

updated 9:12 p.m. ET May 30, 2007

PALO ALTO, Calif. - A young woman accused of posing as a Stanford University student for eight months also fooled Santa Clara University's Army ROTC, which provided her with equipment and included her in classes, a newspaper reported.

Stanford officials say Azia Kim, 18, of Fullerton, attended classes and lived on campus, talking her way into several dormitories until the ruse was discovered last week.

Kim used that guise to misrepresent herself to an ROTC adviser, military officials said. Since Stanford doesn't offer an ROTC program, she enrolled in cadet classes at nearby Santa Clara, the Stanford Daily first reported Tuesday.

Kim sat in on classes on military history and military equipment, said Robert Rosenburgh, spokesman for ROTC's Western Region Cadet Command.

Stanford ROTC adviser Diana Clough said Kim, following ROTC requirements, regularly sent her information about her grades, falsely reporting that she received A's in English and humanities classes, an A-minus in economics and a B in chemistry.

"She was a good student, I've been told," Rosenburgh said. "No suspicions were raised."

Given uniforms
Kim was issued three uniforms, a backpack, shoes and a canteen, among other supplies, Rosenburgh said. After her cover was blown last week, the equipment was found abandoned at Stanford's Kimball dormitory.

The Army does not intend to further investigate the issue, assuming it was just a prank, Rosenburgh said. A variety of checks would have prevented Kim from becoming an Army officer, he said.

Stanford University and the Stanford police department are continuing their investigation, trying to understand how Kim managed to fool students and officials for nearly a year. The information will be sent to the Santa Clara County district attorney's office, which will decide whether to prosecute.

A person who answered a call to Kim's home said the family did not want to comment.

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