Clovis High JROTC makes it to second level of competition

CLOVIS — Every year, students compete in the nationally recognized Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Leadership and Academic Bowl. They take an ACT- and SAT-style test to prove their knowledge of leadership, citizenship and academic subjects.

There are three levels in the competition and Clovis High students have made it to the second. There are 44 New Mexico JROTC teams that compete in the first round, but only five are selected to go forward.

“The purpose of it is to help prepare for things like the SATs,” said Maj. Alan Fields, who runs the Clovis High JROTC program. “If they advance to the third level, they get to take an all-expense paid trip for Washington, D.C., to compete as finalists.”

The bowl tests competitors on subjects they learned as members of the JROTC, like leadership and citizenship, and high school subjects like math, science and English skills.

The test has students work individually for the first portion, then team up to answer the final part together.

“We started preparing about three months beforehand,” said JROTC member Alyssa Heerding. “They had practice tests on the website that we were all required to do.”

With their place in the second round confirmed, five Clovis High students will be competing, but not necessarily the same who passed round one. Heerding will compete alongside Alex Gonzalez and Patricia Hidalgo, with the other two spaces currently open.

The next round takes place on Feb. 22 and Fields said the team would start preparing in January, after they return from winter break.

“Now is the time when we can pull the plug and just let everything in their brains flow out so they can come back and we can refill it,” Fields said.

The Clovis High JROTC has also started planning its end of year trip, tentatively set to take place in April.

The program often can't afford to take the trip every year, but with a donation of $5,000 from Pattern Energy earlier this year, Fields is working to organize a trip for April.

Fields said the trip is a great incentive to get students involved in the program and a reward for those who stick with it throughout the years.

Currently, Fields plans to take the JROTC students on a trip to Dallas where they can visit General Dynamics for a tour and take a trip to the Holocaust museum to include an educational component. Fields said there will likely be a few other fun activities like a trip to the mall along the way.

“We didn't get to do it last year because we didn't have the funds. I'd say it costs about $15,000, even cutting some corners,” Fields said.