Eight students from White Station’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) Leadership and Academic teams traveled to Washington, D.C. over the summer to participate in the JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl national competition. After two preliminary rounds of online competition, the leadership and academic teams advanced to the national competition, which took place at the Catholic University of America in the last week of June.

“Most of our time was spent on the academic team. On the last day, we got to tour Washington, D.C,” White Station’s unarmed drill team commander Johnnie Walton said. “Overall, most of our time was spent competing.”

While the academic team competed against other teams by answering questions about school subjects, such as math, science, and English, the leadership team competed differently.

“The leadership team

had to do well in different activities that tested their leadership abilities,” said Sergeant Major Bolden, senior army JROTC instructor. She accompanied the academic team during the competition.

Overall, the academic team placed first in the army division, in which White Station competed against about 50 other schools. The academic team also placed third in the joint service competition, which encompasses the Marine Corps, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

“It made an impact on all of us that we weren’t expecting. We wouldn’t have been able to qualify without all of our other team members” Catherine Hu (12), battalion commander, said.

“It was just really cool to see other people who were as passionate about ROTC as I am,” Walton said. “It was just a really nice environment to be surrounded by.”