L-R: Sanjuanita Trevino, Liliana Esquivel, Eduardo Trujillo, Kaleb Parham, and Erik Rodriguez. Not pictured: Wilver Mendoza

After advancing through two phases of competition, the Osborne High School JROTC leadership team composed of Kaleb Parham, Sanjuanta Trevino, Liliana Esquivel, Erik Rodriguez, Eduardo Trujillo and Wilver Mendoza will compete in the final Championship round of the 2012 Army JROTC Leadership Symposium in Washington D.C., on the campus of George Mason University, June 22-26, 2012. This event is sponsored by the Army JROTC and conducted by College Options Foundation.

During two rounds of competitive online play, the Osborne High School JROTC team earned top scores out of the 1,345 teams that competed from across the world to win a place in the National Leadership Symposium and the all expense paid trip to DC. In these fast-paced rounds cadets were tested on their knowledge of curriculum lessons including thinking maps application, leadership values and skills including leadership tenets from Gen. George C. Marshall. The team is one of only forty Leadership teams in the nation to advance to the finals. Osborne’s team placed first in their category among schools from Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. It is the unprecedented fifth consecutive year that Osborne High School has been one of 40 schools worldwide that has won a trip to Washington DC.

The team is chosen based on their grades, knowledge of the extensive JROTC curriculum, current events and must study in teams and have the discipline to study independently. The primary members average GPA is 3.7.

The JROTC Leadership Symposium and Academic Bowl is a nationally recognized academic competition created exclusively for JROTC students. By participating, cadets learn the values of citizenship, academic competition, and college opportunity. The competition creates tremendous opportunities for JROTC cadets by allowing them to demonstrate leadership and academic abilities.
College Options Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the academic development of high school students and assisting them in their preparation for higher education. Utilizing academic competitions, college exam study guides, college admissions tutorials and personalized counseling, College Options Foundation has assisted the nation’s 1.1 million JROTC cadets worldwide.

Submitted by Chief Warrant Officer Rodney Fagan, Senior Army instructor, Osborne High School