By Lexi Burch

Senior Mandy Dunlap will be awarded Outstanding NJROTC Cadet on May 16 by the Louisville Armed Forces Committee. This award is awarded to those cadets who have exceptional leadership, commitment, and skill.

“I was really surprised, and it means a lot to me to get the Outstanding NJROTC Cadet award,” said Dunlap.

The procedure in order to pick the outstanding cadet analyzed cadets on their skills, mental ability, and leadership.

“To win this award, I was chosen by my instructors to write an essay on leadership qualities,” said Dunlap. “NJROTC has prepared me on how to be a successful leader, to be committed, and how to work together, along with many other skills. The leadership qualities that I have learned and wrote about were leading by the Navy’s core values of courage, honor, and commitment.”

Dunlap plans on using her NJROTC skills by continuing her career in the national defense field. She hopes to enlist in the Navy.

 “After graduation, I am continuing in the field of national defense by serving in the U.S. Navy; I enlisted as an Aircrewman,” said Dunlap. “I believe that as a citizen I should help protect my country, and I chose the Navy because I like the Navy way of life and the opportunity to travel the world.”

Dunlap has been a member of FC’s NJROTC for four years. She said she is glad that her hard work is finally paying off.

“This wraps up my four years in NJROTC,” said Dunlap, “how I have grown as a person, and how I have been blessed for the things I have accomplished.”