WESTON RANCH
COUGAR BATTALION
Joeseph Kruse
"JROTC has taught me to tackle my fears and take action. Now as a college student and musician I constantly face hard decisions and big performances. My experiences in JROTC is what allows me to stand in front of those large crowds without hesitation, no matter how nervous I am"
Jillian Foronda
When Foronda first started out as a LET 1 , the Cougar Battalion was not thought very highly of. As she claims, "We would look up to other battalions, like Ripon and East Union, as the ones to be and the ones to beat. Our battalion was weak and going through so much change at the time. However, SFC Reyes and LTC Cerezo had a vision and carefully selected their leadership each year to fulfill a goal to become the best battalion. And overtime, it began to show." During he time in JROTC, she recalls that, "Each year, the battalion was hit with so many bumps in the road, and every time our leadership became stronger".
Although the battalion had tough times, each cadet in the battalion came together at the end of the day and achieved improvement as Foronda states, "Each event that I took part in, I wanted to rip my hair out. But when I got such positive feedback from my own cadets, other cadets, and even other instructors, that’s when I knew that everyone’s work was worthwhile".
After years of hard work and challenge, cadets begin to realize their potential in the adult world, "JROTC provides me with the opportunity to gain confidence in speaking to any person and any crowd of people. Job interviews are less scary to confront, not to mention that many employers are highly impressed when you tell them where you have applied your leadership abilities". Foronda leaves us by saying, "I’m comfortable being a leader in group projects in college. I have a better sense of how to adapt to difficult situations. I can say endless things about what I’ve gained from the program. JROTC not only gave me life skills and endless memories, but lifelong friends and amazing mentors that I will look up to forever. And if anything I’ve said is hard to believe, my advice is simply to strive for success. Execute humbly and for the good of the entire battalion".
Demauri Mitchel
"I went from a average high school student to a graduate who has made the Dean's list and is looking forward to transferring to a university. I attribute a lot of my success and work ethic due to LTC.Cerezo and SFC.Reyes. JROTC will help you after high school if you take it seriously throughout high school. I'm really thankful I was in the program for all four years".
Sherylley Lomboy
Former Battalion Commander, Sherylley Lomboy is a current graduate who just achieved her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management. However, she plans on receiving her masters soon. Lomboy recalls how JROTC has affected her in many positive ways. She states, " One of the biggest things I gained was confidence about myself and the things I do. From my perspective, it always seemed like adults always knew what to do as if there was some kind of handbook to life. Going to college helped me realize that there is no right or wrong way to do things, but JROTC paved the way in helping me become a better version of myself. I’ve always known I was a leader, but JROTC gave me experience that no one can ever take away from me". She also states, "Don’t ever stop doing JROTC. Personally, I really care what people think of me and their perception of the kind of person I am. People in high school would always bag on JROTC for uniforms and competitions and all the other stuff we had to do, but what they don’t know what goes on behind the closed doors and why this program means so much to me". Lomboy ends her advice with a sentence each and every cadet can ever relate to, "Participating in JROTC was the greatest memory in high school and gave me the greatest sense of belonging".
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Leanne Mijares
During the beggining of her sophmore year, C/1LT Leanne Mijares unexpectedly had to move schools. In her new school, Lincoln High, she still decided to take up their Navy JROTC because a move was not going to let her stop from improving herself. She says, "My first week it was the only class I was looking forward to. I was already teaching myself and Chief teaching me anything I needed to know".
By her 3rd week, she had shown so much so skill and improvement, Mijares was promoted. From then on, in the span of 5 months, she led her battalion to their first drill comp of the year and helped plan their first military ball. Mijares is now recognized as top 3 in her battalion as OPS (Operations Officer) all while being only a junior.
During her whole process, she states, "What I learn in wrhs and over here is that in wrhs I remember SFC Reyes talking about how he expects his students succeeding once they leave wrhs and i made that into a promise. And he also taught me to jump in when no one isn't doing anything. What Chief taught me here is something similar but he told me that a leader belongs to the front never the back. Overall, what those two taught me is that be fair and get things done. Don't be power hungry abusing your power and don't be too kind to the point people will see it as a weakness".
Mijares includes, "Honestly my sophomore year I grew up so much. My plans for being OPS is preparing for our inspection in November and have more cadets take jrotc seriously. Another thing and what I learn overall is that who cares what rank you are or how long you've been in this program or anything in general. Just jump and be the solution not the problem".
