Photo By Cpl. Naomi May | Grace Cooper smiles for a photo with her Summer Leadership and Character Development...... read more read more
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“Hey, Chicago!” her platoon commander called. “Coming!” Cooper answered.
Grace Cooper, a 17-year-old girl with curly, brown hair and glasses comes running from the tree line with a big smile. She looks energetic, like she is ready to take on a challenge.
As a rising senior at Wilmington High School, Cooper embodies Marine-like characteristics through her determination.
She recently attended the Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy (SLCDA) aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, July 16-22, 2017. Approximately 200 high school students from across the United States who attended the academy were exposed to Marine Corps culture and learned skills designed to help them become successful.
Cooper was raised in a modest home in Wilmington, Illinois, where “ma’am” and “sir” were mainstays in her household.
She seems to take even the smallest of lessons and learn from them. Cooper often got tasked with doing the dishes growing up, but said one day, she decided she had enough of it. Instead of doing as her father asked, Cooper attempted to delegate the chore to her younger sister.
Her father was displeased when he came back to a counter full of dishes. He told Cooper that she needed to respect everyone and take full responsibility for her actions, something that she would remember and cling on to as a daily personal challenge. This, he stressed, was important because she never knew when she would cross paths with someone from the past and need them.
With the help of this upbringing and military movies, Cooper naturally found herself setting out to attend the United States Naval Academy with a goal of becoming a Marine or Naval officer. From there, she hopes to fall in love with her career, which she said she hopes is in the intelligence field.
At the SLCDA, Cooper’s goal was to be convinced to join one of the two braches she was interested in.
“The SLCDA is valuable to all the students if they join the military or not,” emphasized Master Gunnery Sgt. Abiud Montes, the battalion sergeant major for the SLCDA. “This academy is about character development. The value they get from great speakers during the week and different challenges will only create more value to their tool box of knowledge.”
She seemed to have embraced growth in her leadership and character building skills as well as the fellowship of her platoon, affectionately earning the nickname “Chicago” for her localized accent. She could be seen laughing, talking and engaging with the other students. She also immersed herself fully in the summer program, hoping to get as much as she could out of the experience, she said.
Cooper demonstrates Marine Corps leadership traits, such as knowing yourself and seeking self-improvement. She embraces challenge and embodies mental and moral strength. She has trained through difficulties and aspired to be this way, something that cannot be said of everyone, but can certainly be said of a United States Marine.
Cooper challenges the idea that not everyone can be a Marine in ethics, however.
“Everyone has it in them,” she said. “Sometimes, you just need to yank it out from down under.”
| Date Taken: | 07.22.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.16.2017 09:17 |
| Story ID: | 244995 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VA, US |
| Hometown: | WILMINGTON, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 140 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Marine Inside: Student Embodies Marine leadership, by Cpl Naomi May, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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