Fishburne Cadet on to National Essay Competition
Fishburne Cadet Hunter Jennings’ (Riva, MD) essay about Community Service was selected for the National JROTC Essay Contest.
Waynesboro, VA — Cadet Hunter Jennings, a Senior from Riva, MD, has been selected as a contestant in this year’s JROTC National Essay Contest. The contest was open to JROTC Cadets nation-wide and judging began at the individual school level. After having his essay selected from other FMS entries, Jennings’ work was then sent to the Brigade Level last month for judging. 4th Brigade, in which Fishburne’s Corps of Cadets operates, consists of 318 schools throughout West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Cadet Jennings’ essay was selected from among all the 4th Brigade’s entries and is now on its way to the JROTC National Essay Contest judges.
This year’s topic for essays was “Community Service”. Jennings drew upon two very different volunteering jobs he has recently held: one at a Hospice and another at a day-care for underprivileged children. Throughout his essay, Jennings demonstrates the ways in which these seemingly disparate types of service have given him a wider perspective. “My experiences,” he writes, “have humbled me and taught me that giving selflessly can in itself be more rewarding than being paid.”
Fishburne Military School’s Senior Army Instructor, LTC Robert A. Hunt USA(ret), noted that this is the first time in memory that a Fishburne Cadet has reached this level in the Essay Contest. “Cadet Jennings,” Hunt explains, “did a remarkable job with his essay, working in great transitions and personal experience. It’s a real honor for him, and for [FMS], to be chosen for the National Contest. Just coming out on top with 317 other schools in our Brigade is a really great achievement.”
“We couldn’t be any more proud of this young man,” adds Fishburne Superintendent, COL Gary Morrison (VA), “having made it to the National level of this competition is a great testament to his talent, his work ethic and his potential. This is something that he, his instructors and his family can always look back on with great pride.”
Fishburne Military School is the oldest and smallest of all military schools for boys in Virginia. Its college-prep curriculum is built upon the structure of an Army JROTC program. Boasting a 100% college-acceptance rate for the past 10 consecutive years, FMS has also been designated as a JROTC Honor Unit with Distinction and may nominate qualified candidates to the United States Service Academics. Fishburne hosts one of only four Summer JROTC programs in the nation, accredited by US Army Cadet Command.
