How The JROTC Program Helps Me To Put My Leadrship Skills in Use

I have a very tight-knit family, and we believe in giving back to our community and our country. At a very young age, I began to assume leadership and teaming roles. In school, I have or am currently performing as the Team Member/Middle Hitter, Stockbridge High School Volleyball Team (Lady Tigers, Present), Member of Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) Academic Team, Stockbridge High School (Present), Step Master, Omega Mentoring Program (2018), Junior Usher / Member of Children’s Ministry, Hall Grove Baptist Church, Bowman, Georgia (Present), President Omega Mentoring Program (Present), Vice President of Beta Club, 7th grade, Austin Road Middle School (ARMS), Stockbridge, Georgia (2016-2017), President of Beta Club, ARMS, 8th grade ARMS, Stockbridge, Georgia (2016 – 2017), and President of the Student Council, 7th grade, ARMS, Stockbridge, Georgia (2015 – 2016). I give back to my community by volunteering at the Food Pantry, visiting the Hidden Valley Senior Center, and being and being a tutor to K-5 students in the Ellenwood/Stockbridge communities. I provided that background to demonstrate my leadership and commitment to service which are integral elements to being a part of the JROTC Program. I believe that being a leader is ingrained in my Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). It is who I am and the JROTC Program is providing me with a unique opportunity to continue to become a better leader. I joined the Stockbridge High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) Program for several reasons, such as family, education, leadership/growth opportunities, and to be a part of something bigger than myself. I will expound on each of them below.

I have an aunt who served honorably in the US Army as a Major. She went through the Savannah State University ROTC Program. She was able to serve her country and explore parts of the world she would have never seen without the Army providing those opportunities. She followed in the footsteps of my uncle, a Vietnam Veteran who served honorably in the US Army Reserves as a Staff Sargent. He passed away last year, but he left a great legacy for our family having served in one of America’s longest, costliest, and most divisive conflicts. He was an avid champion and advocate for veterans and was the President of a local American Legion Chapter in Elberton, Georgia. I also have a cousin who served in the US Army and retired as a Sergeant First Class. He and my aunt continue to serve as public servants in the federal government in Hawaii and Washington, DC respectively. Their unwavering commitment to serve our country underscore their voluntary service to our nation. They inspire me to be a change agent and to make a difference in our country. Being in ROTC, I have an opportunity to continue to develop an extended family that will make a positive and impactful difference in this world. We will develop our skillsets to compliment the realism of our current world events and provide some practicality in approaching and solving challenging and complex issues.

Being in the JROTC Program also affords me an incomparable education opportunity. In Williams J. Edwards’ book titled, Twenty-Five Years in the Black Belt, which he wrote in 1993, he espoused that “Education is the source of all we have and the spring of all our future joys. Our religion, our morality, and that which is highest and best in our social and civic life all come from education. Therefore, it is the primary factor in the elevation of all races.” My drive and determination to learn, desire for purpose, and drive to excel are all critical to my advancement in society and basic civilization, and the JROTC Program and its leaders instill that in me. With the JROTC Program, I am gaining important qualities that expand my foundational core values. I am traveling and participating in academic bowls, drill competition, breaking down weapons, learning about military history, honing my leadership skills which helps me in my extra-curricular activities, and developing my emotional intelligence to handle my own emotions, as well as, those I lead or must follow. Where else can you receive all of this immeasurable knowledge? I am also maturing into a young adult armed with the physical, mental and scholastic-aptitude to advance as a student-leader.

As I mentioned, I have performed as a leader since my elementary school days, and I continue to do so to develop my leadership skills and independent and creative thinking abilities. I also continue to develop and grow in my approach to be a visionary, recognize problems, and develop multiple angles and approaches to solving them. The JROTC Program affords me an opportunity to demonstrate my oral and written communication skills which are also critical to being a good leader who can provide purpose, motivation, and direction whether in a leadership or team member role. The JROTC Program is a very demanding program, and the leaders of the Stockbridge High School Program can be unrelentingly intense at times, but they are capable of striking the right balance of push and pull out of me and the other cadets to effectively encourage us through each challenging requirement. They want to see us succeed and they strive to make this one of our most important and formative experiences. The critical element to all of this is to take what we learn seriously, but to also learn to have fun in the growth process.

Lastly, being in the JROTC Program affords me a great opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself. The opportunity to serve my community and eventually my country on a bigger stage has so many tangible and intangible rewards. It is an opportunity to be valiant in defending our country’s innate values, demonstrating honor, integrity and dedication to the JROTC Program, as well as, as to my academic and scholastic pursuits. It also allows me to be an example to other students and a respected leader. I want to be the future and continue developing and recognizing my fullest potential. The JROTC Program and its leaders help me strive to be a better student, leader, volunteer, team member, and citizen to our great school and dynamically diverse community.

In summary, much like the ladder rungs that built my hereditary DNA, the JROTC Program is a part of my makeup now, and it is much like a ladder in which I am able to take one step at a time to become more developed mentally and physically so that I can reach the highest ideals at its core which are honor, courage, and commitment. I could not ask for a better opportunity with the JROTC Program and to have the foundational basis of family, education, leadership/growth opportunities, and the challenge to be a steward of education and training to be better serve my local community and country.