Travis Knapp ’12 has earned 55-plus awards, but has a good reason for wearing only one
Cadet Captain Travis Knapp. Photo by Cadet Everett Schuster.
The 18-year-old holds many academic, military, and athletic awards, all of which he has earned the hard way through tireless effort and strong commitment to excellence.
He was tapped for the National Honor Society as a sophomore, has set individual league track records since he was a freshman, and this year was selected by his peers as the most outstanding cadet officer participating in the pre-semester JROTC training week.
All told, he has earned 40 ribbons and 16 commendation medals, a record for recent years at Fishburne in the recollection of many observers.
But how many of these does he wear on the normal day when he stands in front of his Company or otherwise performs his duties at the school?
Usually he wears only one, the ribbon designating him among the top bracket of JROTC cadets in the nation.
The fact that he wears only one ribbon says a lot about this exceptional young man.
“Of course I am proud of my awards,” he tells us, “and I usually wear them with honor, but this year I decided I would rather be known as an officer whom other cadets respect for my attitude, helpfulness, example, and the way I treat others.
“I am striving for that goal rather than gaining their attention by displaying 42 ribbons. This way, as each of the men in my company earns another ribbon, I can congratulate him without intimidating him and hopefully encourage him to make further achievements.”
It’s a commendable attitude and display of leadership more subtle than usually seen in the military.
“I am happy to wear them all on special occasions and will do my best to earn some more,” Knapp says, “but I hope my approach will prove a solid method of bringing out the best in the cadets I lead.”
For Travis Knapp, like many successful people, humility and solid leadership by example seem more impressive in many ways than all the hard-won decorative accoutrements of his uniform.
