April 28, 2022
The Summer Creek High School JROTC is among 32 teams in the nation selected to participate in the 2022 U.S. Army JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl Championship. Summer Creek was selected from 1,900 teams globally and qualified after two preliminary rounds.
Cadets Mathias Crenshaw, Cooper Hamilton, Kaden Tucker, and Darren Wende will be making the trip. All four students, who are juniors at Summer Creek, are thrilled for the opportunity to showcase their academic and leadership skills while representing their school.
“We’re really excited about making our first trip to Washington, D.C.,” Wende said. “What makes us a great team is that each member plays to their strengths to help us achieve our best.”
The JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl is a nationally recognized competition created exclusively for JROTC students. By participating, cadets learn the values of citizenship, academic competition, and college opportunity. The competition creates opportunities for JROTC cadets by allowing them to demonstrate leadership and academic abilities.
During the two fast-paced preliminary rounds in the JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl, Summer Creek JROTC cadets were tested on their knowledge of core curriculum such as math, science, and language arts as well as current events, citizenship leadership skills, and financial literacy.
Cadets say an added benefit is how preparations for the championship also helped them in other ways.
“Since we’re all juniors, we also spend a lot of time preparing for the SAT,” Crenshaw said. “When we found out we could prepare for the championship and the SAT at the same time, it made the process easier for us.”
Traveling with them will be Summer Creek JROTC Moderator and Senior Army Instructor Major Ricky Parker. Major Parker, who served in the Army and worked for the U.S. Department of Defense, has been an educator for 16 years. He has served as JROTC Moderator and Senior Army Instructor at Summer Creek since joining Humble ISD six years ago. He was previously with Houston ISD where he led another group of JROTC cadets to the championship.
Major Parker is extremely proud of the JROTC program he has helped build at Summer Creek. Approximately 130 students participate each year. Only four students are allowed to travel to Washington, D.C. for the competition due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Major Parker helped guide his cadets every step of the way during the competition from coaching them on leadership skills to preparing them academically.
“It’s amazing to see people of that age who have not been to college display their level of knowledge to make it to this competition,” Major Parker said. “It’s really remarkable to see what they’re capable of.”
The 2022 U.S. Army JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl Championship will take place at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., from June 24-28, 2022.
For more information about Summer Creek High School JROTC: Summer Creek JROTC