FOR the third straight year, a female student leader has dominated Marianas High School’s JROTC program.
The fact that females dominate the JROTC is something “for all the men to chew on,” said Gov. Juan N. Babauta, who was the keynote speaker at the school’s JROTC change of command ceremony.
The governor lauded MHS for being named as one of the schools with the highest JROTC enrollment in the United States. MHS has 440 cadets.
The outgoing MHS battalion commander, Cadet Col. Cheryl Lolemei Ingereklii, 17, and her successor, Cadet Maj. Kimberly Cheryl Palacios, 16, said it wasn’t difficult to prove themselves in what was supposed to be a male-dominated field.
That’s because the two have dedicated and committed themselves to the program.
Ingereklii said the JROTC helped her become a better person.
“It has taught me a lot—to get along with others in a very disciplined way. The program has been very good to me,” she said.
The eldest among five children, Ingereklii spent her first 12 years in Palau before her family moved to the CNMI.
She has been with the JROTC since her freshman year.
Ingereklii served as a member of the Dolphin Battalion Rifle Marksmanship and the Color Guard Teams. She has received numerous academic awards, including the Superior Cadet Award.
She will also be graduating with honors at MHS.
Ingereklii said she intends to enter a military school to join some of her cousins who are also serving the nation as soldiers.
Palacios said she was inspired to join the JROTC by the many good things she had heard about it.
“When I was in Hopwood, I heard many good things about the JROTC so I decided to join,” she said.
She said the program taught her the importance of commitment, loyalty and trust.
“I am responsible for whatever the battalion does or fails to do,” she said.
Ingereklii said she is “absolutely confident that (Palacios) will do her job well.”
