Originally published on 9/10/20
Alvin High School MCJROTC were awarded two highly notable honors from the Marine Corps Reserve Association during the month of September. The honors include ranking first as the MCRA Naval Honor school and Cadet Captain Trenton Parker was selected as the Legion of Valor winner for Region 5.
Both recognitions came with years of hard work and dedication to both their individual goals, and the program as a whole. Cadet Parker is currently a senior at Alvin High School who is heavily involved in MCJROTC, swim, water polo, and organizations such as the National Honor Society. He is also ranked number one in his senior class.
“It’s unbelievable to receive this honor,” Cadet Parker shared. “The opportunities I’ve had over the last four years to better myself both academically and as a Cadet have truly paid off.”
The application process is similar to a college application, and is reviewed by a panel of retired military officers who comb through every detail for each student. “This is the highest award a high school cadet can receive and when we discuss standards of excellence, this is the award cadets strive towards because it means so much to receive it,” Alvin HS Senior Marine Instructor Major Timothy Flynn explained, “Cadet Parker, in every way, meets and exceeds all expectations.”
On top of the personal achievement from Cadet Parker, Alvin High School MCJROTC was also recognized for their outstanding accomplishments overall and was named the MCRA winner for Region 5. The process for being awarded this honor is a combination of many areas such as public affairs, community service, scholarships, academic awards, competitions they attend, and more.
“The process of obtaining the honor can be accredited to the kids buying into the program and truly listening to how we are building our organization,” Alvin HS Marine Instructor First Sergeant Stephen Garcia shared, “We were honored to be named a Naval Honor School for the past two years, but this year we were ranked number one out of sixty-five schools.”
From both Major and First Sergeant's perspective, instilling the values of taking pride in their school and community is exactly what they strive for when leading the cadets of Alvin High School. They are thankful for the endless support from Principal Karen Taylor and the entire administrative team.