JROTC programs bring purpose to LPS students

They joined for various reasons: one just wanted to hang out with friends, one wanted to hone leadership skills and one wanted to be a better person. All of them found what they were looking for and more in Lawton Public Schools’ Junior ROTC programs.

Cadet Lt. Col. Efrain Ontiveros, Lawton High School, said he joined JROTC because “I thought it could better me.” Ontiveros described himself as the class joker in middle school.

“I was involved in horseplay and didn’t get much done. Now I see how stupid that was,” he said. He said his involvement in JROTC has helped him focus more on his work. “It has taught me discipline and time management.”

JROTC has made such a difference in the life of Ontiveros that he encourages others to become involved in JROTC.

“It is about discipline and being a better person. If you are a troublemaker, you should join ROTC,” he said.

Ontiveros said one of his cadets, another sophomore, was much like himself. He said he gives her advice based on his own experience.

“She sees where she could be in however many years,” he said. “JROTC is not all about joining the military. It is about discipline and being a better person. Discipline and respect make the difference.”

Ontiveros is only a sophomore, but has already risen to the top leadership command position. He attributes his rapid rise to his peers, who pushed him to be a leader, he said.

“I took other people’s advice and shaped it my own way,” he said. “I’m still working on myself to be a better leader. You have to know when to have fun and when to be serious. You have to be a leader and have fun while doing so.”

Cadet Lt. Col. Abigail Benoit, a senior at MacArthur High School, said she joined JROTC because she wanted to hang out with her friends, but hanging out with her friends became a side benefit.

“I’m a little bit introverted and this is where I get to be talkative,” she said. “This gets me out of my shell. I don’t like being lazy.”

Benoit assists with drill practice every day, cleans up, helps with the Fall carnival, and is part of the Color Guard that presents the flags at banquets and football games.

Benoit said she has learned life lessons like how to work as a team and the proper way to talk to people, skills that will help her in the workforce after high school.

Cadet Lt. Col. Sarah Johnson, a senior at Eisenhower High School, said she joined JROTC because she plans to pursue a career in the military. Johnson describes herself as a military brat – her father is active duty Army and is stationed at Fort Sill. She has seen different parts of the world thanks to her father’s career, including postings in South Korea and at several posts stateside. Moving around and experiencing different cultures is part of why she plans to join the military.

“I wanted the opportunities that the military offers,” she said, and JROTC offers a path to those opportunities.

Being in JROTC has helped hone her leadership abilities because she has occupied various roles in the organization, she said. Although she knew she possessed leadership skills, one event in her life drove home the need to put those skills to use. She said that at a previous duty assignment, she was passed over for the position of student ambassador in her school because she had not occupied enough leadership roles.

“I highlighted that portion of the letter and hung it over my bed,” Johnson said. “By the next year, I had more roles than anyone else.”

Being a team player was something all three cadets said they learned.

“I still want to help people out and help them become leaders, not followers,” Ontiveros said.

“It’s one big family. We ultimately care about each other and we care for each other,” Benoit said.

“I learned how to work with all different characters of people and get them to work together. I’m nothing without my people,” Johnson said. “It taught me that even a leader is allowed to make mistakes. You show your subordinates that you are human, too.”

Johnson plans to pursue a career in engineering in the military and plans to apply to West Point and the Air Force Academy.

Benoit said that while a military career is Plan B for her, she will carry with her lessons she has learned in JROTC.

“It helps me with new job experiences,” she said. “I learned how to work with other people.”

Ontiveros said he would like to be a combat medic and wants to take medical classes at Great Plains Technology Center next year. He plans to attend a college with an ROTC program and then enlist in the Army or Marines.