UTICA — Navy Junior ROTC Senior Chief Petty Officer and Safety Officer Isaiah Sexton said preparing for the recent drill meet at Proctor High School was “nothing short of rigorous.”

“Ever since the beginning of the school year, each cadet has come in at 7 a.m. every morning for an hour-long drill practice and has come after school for a 30-minute drill practice,” Sexton, a junior at Notre Dame Junior Senior High School, said. “Each cadet has spent hours preparing for this drill meet, among others, and our first place finish is truly an exemplification of the hard work and dedication of the unit as a whole.”

That preparation paid off for the Notre Dame cadets, as they took first place overall at the recent competition. Notre Dame NJROTC cadets earned first place in Armed Regulation, Unarmed Regulation, Color Guard, Academics and Personal Inspection. They also earned first place in Physical Fitness, Unarmed Exhibition and Unarmed Dual and second place in Armed Exhibition, Armed dual and Knockout Competition.

The NJROTC groups competing also included cadets from Proctor and Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse.

Sexton said he participated on multiple drill teams, including Notre Dame’s Armed Regulation, Unarmed Regulation, Armed Exhibition and Physical Fitness teams. To participate on these many teams requires hours of practice and dedication, he said, and he spent many hours perfecting his skills to meet the requisites of each team.

NJROTC Executive Officer Abigail Davis, a Notre Dame senior, said many of the cadets are on many different teams due to the small size of their unit. They did find they needed to address a few obstacles leading up to the competition, she said.

“A few of our cadets were unable to attend and their positions had to be filled,” Davis noted. “However, we were able to overcome that with the help of extreme dedication from cadets.” 

Davis said she aided in teaching new cadets who had to fill empty positions in the complicated routines. For this competition, she explained, it was important for her to emphasize the importance of hard work and commitment to all of the cadets ­— and they rose up to the challenge. 

Helping each other is what the NJROTC is about for her, Davis said.

“I joined because of the amazing things I have heard about our unit,” she recalled. “In our NJROTC program, the environment our cadets have created is what I like best. They encourage one another to improve every day.”

“I like the ability to meet new people and foster new connections with peers,” Sexton added. “If it wasn’t for me joining ROTC, I would not be subject to the lifelong connections and friendships with which I have created among my participation within the unit. Being able to meet new people and create lifelong bonds is something that I am eternally grateful for, therefore leading it to be one of my favorite things about the Notre Dame NJROTC program.”