Ashley Hunter, ECB Publishing, Inc.
Six graduating students at Jefferson Somerset were honored and acknowledged on Friday, May 4 at a signing ceremony. The six students, Quashawn Hernandez, Mark Vinson, Elliot Robinson, Jadica Arnold, Christian Steen and Kaniya Alexander, signed their agreement with the respective branches of military that each student would be entering following their graduation later this month.
“I am very proud of each and every one of you,” said Sgt. Walker to the enlisting students. “There is no greater love than laying down your life for your friends,” added Walker, quoting the biblical John 15:13. “The choice you are making is a selfless one,” added Jefferson Somerset Principal Cory Oliver. “You will find out what true courage is.”
Principal Oliver also spoke on the overwhelming feeling of seeing the young men and women within his school stand up and enlist for something so momentous and selfless as the United States Military. Parents of the students stood and spoke words of pride and encouragement to their enlisting sons and daughters during the ceremony.
Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Purple Heart were present to pass wisdom onto the young men and women who were enlisting, as well as decorate those who had gone above and beyond during their time in the JROTC.
According the Sgt. Walker, this signing was the largest mass enlistment of any Jefferson County students into the military in the nine years he had served as the JROTC commander for the county's school.
[To read more about the individual students and the branches they signed on with, pick up the May 9, 2018 edition of the Monticello News, or purchase a subscription to read the EPUB online!]
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