Out of more than 20 schools, Westview’s JROTC was awarded the most accolades at the Area TWENTY-ONE Leadership Academy, June 17-21. More than 130 cadets from San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles counties attended the five-day event. From Westview, cadets JJ Cheon (11), Samuel Kim (11), Zoey Espiritu (11), and Matteus Juza (11) were selected for the academy.
Over the course of five days, Cheon said the academy pushed the students to perform their best in their military training.
“The leadership academy was definitely challenging, both physically and mentally,” Cheon said. “The leaders there really pushed us to the limit and although it was draining, it really brought out the best within all of us.”
Kim said they participated in numerous activities, such as hiking and swimming, that helped them build endurance and strength as well as attending lessons on leadership skills.
“There were several physical activities that challenged not only the cadets’ physical performance but also perseverance and mindset,” Kim said. “Such as the physical fitness test, which consists of push-ups, sit-ups, and a one-mile run. There were also a number of lectures about the basic skills one needs to have to be a student-leader. We also did many military activities like nightwatch, drills, and inspection.”
According to Cheon, they would wake up at 5am each day to do different activities, classes, and training. These challenges and training given to the cadets at the academy were difficult, but her driven mindset helped her push through.
“I learned that perseverance and dedication will help you drive through obstacles,” Cheon said. “Even though it was so mentally and physically straining, my determination kept me from wavering under the pressure that was put on us at the leadership academy. ”
At the end of the academy, each cadet was recognized with awards for their accomplishments. Cheon earned the Gung Ho Award for most dedicated, Kim and Espiritu won the Honor Cadet award for best academic performance, and Juza was a part of the Honor Platoon.
By the end of the five days, Kim said the experience taught him to challenge himself, which he did during the academy in order to receive the Honor Cadet award.
“One thing I learned through this academy is that challenging yourself is the only way to succeed,” Kim said. “During the leadership academy, cadets had to study all the materials they learned from the lectures for the final exam. I really wanted to excel, but there were too many materials to study with the limited free time. So I chose to volunteer to do the nightwatch every day so that I had enough time to study, which eventually allowed me to win the Honor Cadet award. It was hard to make a decision to give up the time to recover after a tiring day to do extra work, but it turned out to be a very meaningful takeaway from the academy.”
Cheon said the academy helped bring the cadets closer together as a unit for a new year of JROTC. Now, as a junior, Cheon said she is excited to share their experiences and help incoming cadets.
“JROTC helped me gain confidence, discipline, and leadership,” Cheon said. “When I first joined as a freshman, I was very shy and nervous about making new friends, but the JROTC upperclassmen helped me gain confidence and make a lot of new amazing friends. As a junior this year, I hope to give the same comfort and confidence to the incoming freshmen that I received.”
For Kim, who hopes to continue ROTC throughout college, JROTC has helped him prepare for the future.
“JROTC has helped me grow mentally as a future leader by providing many opportunities that allowed me to learn invaluable lessons,” Kim said. “It has given me lessons on human relationships, perseverance, courage, and many other things that you use on a daily basis. And I think all these things I am learning through this class are transforming me into an adult, a leader, from a 16-year-old student.”
