Educators, key leaders learn Marine Corps leadership at workshop

Photo By Sgt. Phuchung Nguyen | Quantico, Va - Marines and educators gather for a group photo outside the National Museum of the Marine Corps during Marine Corps Recruiting Command’s 2018 Educators’ and Key Leaders’ workshop , June 21. The workshop establishes mutually beneficial relationships between Marine officer selection officers and educators. Community leaders and educators from around the country travel to Quantico in efforts to develop better leadership skills and better opportunities in the Marine Corps. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Phuchung Nguyen)  

QUANTICO, VA, UNITED STATES

06.22.2018

Story by Lance Cpl. Naomi May 

Marine Corps Recruiting Command           

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — More than 30 collegiate educators and key influencers from across the nation came here to learn about Marine Corps officer programs and see firsthand how junior officers are developed into leaders during Marine Corps Recruiting Command’s (MCRC) 2018 Educators and Key Leaders Workshop, June 18-22.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you all do to be that role model and set the example for those great young men and women with whom you come into contact,” said Maj. Gen. James Bierman, the commanding general of MCRC, as he addressed the guests. “We are going to make an intentional effort to expose you to the pathway that young men and women take when they’re going to become Marine officers. These officers are going to have an immediate responsibility, sometimes for as many as 40 or 50 young Marines, for their training and welfare, to be that mentor and role model.”

Each year, fewer than 100 educators have the opportunity to get this inside look at the making of a Marine officer. The goal of the workshop is to return better-educated key influencers to their institutions and communities equipped to tell the Marine Corps story, and to spread a message of opportunity to their colleagues and students while cultivating positive relationships between officer selection officers (OSO) and themselves.

Throughout the week, guests had several opportunities to participate in exclusive events, such as the leadership reaction course aboard Officer Candidates School, a flight in an MV-22 Osprey with the Presidential Helicopter Squadron and go aboard the Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico, where Maj. Gen. Bierman spoke, and a patrolling demonstration aboard The Basic School (TBS). TBS is where newly commissioned Marines spend six months to hone their leadership skills and develop a basic understanding of how they will spend their initial time in the operating forces.

“The Leadership Reaction Course training was really helpful in that there’s not always time to think as a leader,” said Shivangee Pandya, a law school instructive research attorney for the corporation Lexis Nexis. “It was really helpful to be in a different situation than the classroom, learning it that way.”

The attendees were also special guests of Brig. Gen. Dimitri Henry, the director of intelligence for the Marine Corps, who invited all workshop members to a reception prior to the Tuesday Evening Sunset Parade, performed by Marines from Marine Barracks Washington, D.C. During the ceremony, they saw performances from the Marine Corps’ Silent Drill Platoon, and the Commandant’s Own Drum & Bugle Corps. Additionally, they partook in a number of discussions with Marines about candid stories of their time in the Corps and how they can benefit their students’ lives with what they learned at the workshop.

The many events attendees experience help paint a picture of who Marines are, how they operate and what goes into making Marine officers. This alone presents opportunities for educators and key leaders to open doors for Marines to share the Marine Corps story in efforts to expose their colleagues and students to career opportunities in the Marines that they may not be aware of.

The Corps is committed to attracting, mentoring, and retaining talented men and women who bring a diversity of backgrounds, cultures, and skills in service to our Nation.

“These educators are going to take back some of the values and understand that there is a lot of merit in serving and provide some guidance to their students about joining the Marine Corps,” said Capt. Terrence Stephens, an officer selection officer from Lafayette, Indiana.

Still, Master Sgt. Damian Cason, the community engagement chief at MCRC, said that educators came to the workshop for one overarching purpose.

He explained, “We hope that our guests from these colleges and universities depart from our home with more knowledge about who we are and what opportunities exist for their students with the Marine Corps.”

For educators, key leaders or coaches interested in attending next year’s workshops, please visit https://www.mcrc.marines.mil/, and click on the “Workshop Opportunities” for more information, or email [e-mail]. For those who may be interested in becoming a Marine officer, please visit Marines.com.

• Date Taken: 06.22.2018
• Date Posted: 06.22.2018 10:55
• Story ID: 281926
• Location: QUANTICO, VA, US