By Russell Omo

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After completing the first round of the Junior Leadership and Academics Bowl (JLAB), cadets of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) participated in the second round of the test from Feb. 14 to 15 which, to the team, was a momentous event for the program as this is their first year.

“I couldn’t be more happy for the team because I thought they did an excellent job, they earned a lot. In the (first year of JROTC at MHS), out of all the schools, I think there was only three or four that actually went to level two, so for us to come out the door with those kind of results is very rewarding because we just started the program,” expressed Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Schiller.

JLAB is an online assessment where two teams of six cadets from each school are tested on leadership and academics. The leadership team faced questions concerning interactions between people of different ranks and psychological aspects. “On the leadership team for JLAB, we’re presented with scenarios, be it, you know, ‘your cadet’s shown up late and he’s a squad leader, you’ve got to council him on how to be better.’ You got to do it the right way to not make him feel like an idiot but still get the point across that it’s his fault,” explained Junior

The academic aspect of JLAB revolves around an entirely different set of knowledge. “(The academic portion) is kind of like a test like the SAT or ACT and there’s different sections that make it up. There’s math, science, reading, sentence structure, some JROTC questions and current events,” said Sophomore Sarah Owen.

Whereas most tests are based on individual performance, JLAB is a group endeavor that encourages communication and teamwork between cadets. “It’s not like when you take a test and there’s all this pressure on you, it’s more like open because you can talk things over with additional help form other people there and they can reassure you on an answer,” said Owen.

However, synergy and agreement between teammates is not always achieved. “A difficulty we had is when we don’t all come to a consensus and since we’re timed, we almost ran out of time on a lot of questions, but luckily, we always have someone with an overriding veto,” said Pagonis.

The JLAB team currently awaits the results for round two. If they pass, the team will make it to the national competition held in Washington D.C. in June.