The Pebble Hills High School Navy JROTC academic team earned their way to compete at the 2022 JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl, a national competition held June 25-27 in Washington D.C.
Out of 2,200 NJROTC academic teams that competed, Pebble Hills placed in the top three percent to earn their place in the JLAB championships in the nation’s capital. This is the first time a local NJROTC unit has participated in the JLAB championships.
“It was an amazing experience for us all, but mainly for our cadets,” said Frank Castanon, a naval science instructor at Pebble Hills High School. “Whether they won or lost in the competition, they already won in our eyes because of how far they made it.”
The Pebble Hills team was one of eight academic teams at the national competition and finished in fourth place overall.
The competition started as an online contest in November 2021, which took about a week to complete. The students would gather in a classroom and had one minute to answer each question, similar to the renowned game show Jeopardy.
The questions covered various topics, such as world history, geography, SAT, ACT, etc.
The competition became more challenging as they went into round two in March 2022, which included 200 academic teams.
Cadet Michael Tubbs, a senior at Pebble Hills High School, said it was a memorable learning experience and allowed him and his classmates the opportunity to tour and enjoy the nation’s capital.
“It was truly an honor, it has undoubtedly validated and boosted my confidence in myself, my team, and my program,” Tubbs said. “I am proud of each member of the team and thankful for the support of my teachers, naval science instructors, and my family.”
Tubbs’ plans to attend college with a focus on a career in law, law enforcement, psychology, or all three.
Cadet Martha Rocha, a senior at Pebble Hills High School, said the competition went really well, especially considering it was the team’s first year competing at such a high level. She said finishing in fourth place was an amazing accomplishment.
“It felt surreal, almost unbelievable. Out of thousands of programs that competed in this year’s JLAB competition, we were one of the programs to compete,” Rocha said. “It took me a while to actually realize how amazing it was.”
Rocha plans to attend Texas Tech University to major in psychology or a medical program and hopes to join the military upon completion.
Both Tubbs and Rocha said they want to strengthen their NJROTC program this year and will try their hardest to compete and place further at the JLAB championships.
Published July 26, 2022
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