Discipline, motivation and leadership. These are some of the key values for a person to have to earn a career for today, tomorrow and beyond. One place to learn these values is the Junior Reserved Officer Training Corps [JROTC] program at the Genesee Career Institute [GCI].

“The JROTC program gets you ready for the army,” junior Nicholas Schilling said. “The aims of the program are to prepare you in your life for discipline, with leadership, to carry out duties of your life and to prepare you for your life.”

Because JROTC program is army based, it trains students in military knowledge such as weapon usage, marching and following orders from their commanders.
“Lieutenant Colonel Lapham is in charge,” Schilling said. “He served for far longer than two years because he did not do JROTC. He had to go the long route, which does give him plenty of experience over all of our heads.”

The two current commanding officers overseeing the JROTC program, Colonel Lapham and First Sergeant Lahaine, teach the lessons for the key skills in the program. The skills gained help prepare the students for entering the military branches they’re interested in or preparing them for other future careers.

“It teaches you through drill,” Schilling said. “They say commands and you follow them. It’s pretty simple, but it gives a lot of experience with just doing what you’re supposed to do. Every single thing has a specific way to do it, if you do it wrong you get penalized.”

The program’s teaching method helps students learn about possible consequences from their actions. The incorrect actions of students are punished, while the correct actions are rewarded.

“I feel it has made me a better person. I feel more confident I have a louder voice,” Schilling said. “It’s giving me motivation, like I hope that by the end of the semester, I will have all A’s.”