Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher OGrady | Operations Specialist 2nd Class Jessica Fong poses for a portrait photo at Recruit...... read more read more
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Meet OS2 Jessica Fong! She is currently an #Instructor at the #Navy ‘s only #Bootcamp.
Fong comes from #Bakersfield #California. She joined to get a sense of direction in her life.
“So, I was going to community college out in #SanDiego taking classes. I didn't know what I was majoring in. I didn't know what to do. My sister who was in the Navy told me I should join the Navy. ‘It'll give you a lot of benefits. You can go to school. If you can't figure it out right away, you can figure it out along the way while you're in and they can help you out.’ I decided to join mostly because of her influence.”
Fong, is an instructor at Freedom Hall onboard #RTCGreatLakes. She helps train recruits to be physically fit for the Navy by facilitating RTC’s Physical Readiness Test (PRT). She is a crucial part from the transition of recruit to Sailor.
“When they first get here, they look clueless. They don't know what they're doing, but it’s our job to help them out. If they have bad form with pushups or planks, we show them the proper way. They always have questions about something, sometimes it's frustrating because you would think they would know how to run since they're just fresh out of high school, but a lot of them have trouble with that too.”
However, the progression from motivated recruits in the 10 short weeks is undeniable.
“It's a big difference from recruits just starting boot camp to when they’re finishing. They come to their Pacers, sometimes only being able to do two pushups, some can’t even do a pushup correctly. It's crazy to see that. And then once you see them in their official PRT, they're getting scores that are actually passing scores and actually able to graduate.”
Fong doesn’t attribute this growth all to herself.
“I think we all contribute in a way to the success of the recruits, the instructors and the RDCs help push them past what they think is their limit. We try to motivate them to the best of our ability and it’s awesome to be able to see the recruits grow.”
Being at RTC Great Lakes for the past two years, OS2 has found that it’s not just the recruits that have grown, but also herself personally.
“I think the most beneficial part of what I do is how it’s helped me open up more. I would have never seen myself doing this years back. Being on the microphone and speaking out to people. I think it's helped me open up and be more confident in talking and being an instructor for the course.”
Getting in front of people hasn’t always been so easy for Fong.
“It has helped me a lot to overcome public speaking. Growing up or going to school, I always liked dreaded presentations and things like that, but doing what I do every day has helped me a lot. I don't feel as shy or feeling of ‘I don't want to do it.’ ”
| Date Taken: | 02.03.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2022 15:03 |
| Story ID: | 413943 |
| Location: | ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 559 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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