FAIRFAX, Va., June 30, 2011 -- Of 328,000 Army JROTC cadets nationwide -- and a few select Department of Defense Schools worldwide -- 18,000 competed in a national academic competition with only 41 continuing on to compete in the Tri-Service Academic Bowl championship.
The scholastic championship was held at George Mason University June 24-28 in conjunction with the annual Army JROTC Leadership Conference attended by an additional 200 leading cadets representing about 64 schools.
About 16 schools were represented by Air Force JROTC academic teams during the competition, while four schools represented Navy JROTC.
The Army JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl, or JLAB, is hosted each year by College Options Foundation, an organization dedicated to enriching the academic development of high school students and assisting them in their preparation for higher education.
“Using academic competitions, college exam study guides, college admissions tutorials and personalized counseling we have assisted thousands of students to attain their dreams of attending college,” said Terry Wilfong, founding president of College Options Foundation.
The foundation’s academic competitions are designed to challenge and prepare high school students for college entrance exams using a fast-paced internet-based program designed by i.d.e.a.s. at Disney-MGM Studios. The Foundation’s JROTC Academic Challenge tests teams of five cadets on their knowledge of JROTC curriculum, high school math, science and language arts.
Of the 24 schools competing in the Tri-Service Academic Bowl championship, third place went to Naples High School of Naples, Fla. Claudia Taylor Johnson High School of San Antonio, Texas, came in second place, while the coveted first-place championship title went to Marmion Academy of Aurora, Ill. In fact, this is the second consecutive year that the academy placed first in this competition.
“In those critical last moments of the competition, we were absolutely relieved when the Air Force team gave the wrong answer,” said Marmion Academy Cadet 2nd Lt. Mitchell Heaton, 17, academic team leader and incoming senior. “We worked hard as a team, and it paid off.”
The placements for the leadership teams are as follows: Soddy Daisy High School of Soddy Daisy, Tenn., came in third place. Union County High School of Union, S.C., earned second place, and Claudia Taylor Johnson High School of San Antonio won first place.
“These students represent the best of the best from thousands of high schools,” Wilfong said. “Most importantly, they are from all walks of life while having two things in common: one, they are very smart, and two, many are from low income families. These kids are beating the odds.”
Throughout the duration of the conference, cadets from both the leadership and academic teams collaborated on peer-to-peer mission projects, building innovative educational software to assist more than a million high school JROTC students annually on standardized testing and general high school curriculum. Partnering with Marvel comics, and Disney MGM Studios, these programs will assist JROTC kids around the world in their academic endeavors.
“A lot of studying and academic preparation went into this year’s competition,” said Heaton. “With our peer-to-peer projects, it’s great knowing that our hard work will also help somebody else out in the long run. We have a lot of brilliant students in our battalion preparing for next year’s academic competition, and I’m ready to help train them up and hand over the reigns.”
Cadets from all service branches worldwide participate in myriad leadership discussions through the JROTC World Facebook page, initiated by College Options Foundation. This platform allows student leadership teams to interact, reflect and learn about leadership programs and systems to improve their local units. Among the discussion topics, cadets are asked to answer the question of who their hero is.
“My hero is definitely my father, Army green beret, Sergeant First Class Hester, who was a great leader to his men and served over four combat tours in Iraq,” said Cadet 2nd Lt. Col. Jacob Hester, 17, an incoming senior at Fort Payne High School of Fort Payne, Ala. “He has been a great father to me, still finding time to be with me even though he was in the Army and I did not live with him.”
Because of his father’s influence, Hester recently enlisted in the Army as an Infantryman, and after graduating high school and completing his service contract, plans to enroll in the Green-to-Gold program and apply for an Army ROTC scholarship at North Georgia College, majoring in Criminal Justice, and later, commissioning as an officer into the Infantry Corps.
“Since freshman year, it had always been my plan to enlist in the Army,” Hester said. “But after joining JROTC, it influenced my decision to attend college, finish a degree, and commission as an officer.”
One thing most people assume is that JROTC is a recruitment tool for the U.S. Army. Cadets attending JLAB refuted the claim.
“JROTC is not just about the military, or about teaching you history and wars,” said Cadet 2nd Lt. Kailey Perry, 16, an incoming junior at Tahlequah High School in Tahlequah, Okla. “JROTC is like a family. Everyone cares about how you’re doing. Two years ago, I could not even look people in the eye, or even talk to anybody I didn’t already know, but now my confidence and leadership skills have grown tenfold.”
In JROTC, cadets tend to arrive to school early, spend time with each other during lunch, and stay late after school, according to retired 1st Sgt. Steven R. Walker, the assistant Army instructor at Perry’s school.
“These kids are looking for discipline,” said Walker. “We’re like a big family unit. Our cadets get along well with each other, they don’t harass each other, and they even tutor and mentor each other. It’s unbelievable.”
Both Hester and Heaton agree that JROTC builds a special kind of camaraderie like no other campus organization.
“JROTC has influenced my choice of college,” Heaton said, “It showed me life options in the service, helped build my leadership skills, and given me some incredible life experiences that I can’t compare to anything else.”
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