Story and Photos by: C/2LT Journey Fisher
On January 10 and 11, 2024, Alexandria City High School Army JROTC program selected several Cadets to attend the 8th-grade high school orientation at George Washington and Hammond Middle School. Students had an opportunity to discuss their future class assignments. Cadets shared the stage with other high school programs and classes, discussing the different opportunities each class can bring as middle schoolers decide on the type of career pathways they want to explore. Emphasizing self-improvement, discipline, and leadership values, we aimed to address any misconceptions and inform the class of 2028 about their options for the future.
Cadets wore different uniforms: Class A, Class B, ACUs (Army Combat Uniforms), and PT uniforms. Wearing our uniforms and discussing their purpose in our program really engaged the audience. As we talked about the uniforms we also talked about different things our program provides. Talking about JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge (JCLC), our Raider team, Drill team, Academic and leadership team, and many other opportunities that JROTC provides to Cadets. We are a class of focus and dedication, highlighting those aspects as a program we are encouraging the students that we reward hard work and dedication!
As a program, we made it a duty to discuss our mission as a program, “To Motivate Young People to Become Better Citizens.” While these middle schoolers may not understand that concept at this moment, we hoped to encourage them that our program brings more to the table than many other programs. Showing them what we do as a program, Cadets, and just a family in general we hope to influence them to think about our class and try it out as they enter high school.
