Blair’s Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps Receives Scholarships from the Altadena Rotary Club

Three Junior ROTC students from Blair High School in Pasadena were recipients of $2,000 scholarships from the Altadena Rotary Club during the Americanism awards Thursday, May 19, which started with a presentation of colors by the Blair High School Color Guard.

The recipients were Stephanie Munguia, who was made unit commander of the Blair High JROTC unit; Richard Conell, who was in charge of the Color Guard; and Tessa Matthews, a four-year JROTC member, who was in charge of promoting the JROTC program in the community.

Munguia will be attending UCLA in the fall, targeting a microbiology and neuroscience major.

Conell, who joined JROTC following an elder brother’s footsteps, will be attending Cal State Monterey with an environmental studies degree. He said he wants to help heal the world for future generations.

Matthews stated that the JROTC program changed her life and taught her to become a leader, and that it was one of the best experiences anyone could have. She will be attending Northwest College in the fall, pursuing a major in Dentistry. Her goal is “to make a difference in the world.”

Sergeant Ervin Turner, US Army retired, heads the JROTC program at Blair. He spoke about the accomplishments of his cadets, saying they average about 7,000 service hours a year.

Out of the 500 students at Blair High School, 135 are in the JROTC program. Turner thanked the Rotarians saying the scholarships will “take some financial strain off the parents.”

The Rotary Club also gave out Academic Achievement Awards to students from Elliot Middle School. Introduced by Karen Coors from Elliot, the recipients are Adolpho Carrada, a musician and member of the jazz band, who has a 4.0 GPA and will be attending PHS in the fall; and Illiana de la Torre, who was Student of the Month several times at Ellito and who will also be attending PHS in the fall.

Two students from John Muir High School were also given the Academic Achievement Awards – Diego Obregon, a senior who is part of many clubs at school and hopes to be part of the swim club when he enters UCLA in the fall; and Victoria Pulcifer, who has a 4.0 GPA and is the class valedictorian.

Pulcifer is part of the drama club at Muir and was a JROTC member before the program was dropped from the school. She will be attending Stanford in the fall, pursuing a computer science and graphic design degree.

At Blair, JROTC cadets are organized into units along military lines and are taught by retired military personnel.

JROTC does not recruit students for active military service. Instead, its focus is on developing young people and orienting them positively in preparation for whatever role in life they might choose. It is in this sense that JROTC is part of the Army’s service to the nation.

For additional information regarding the Army guidelines, and structure of the JROTC program visit www.usarmyjrotc.com.