Students rotated classes every 45 minutes. There was a mix of students that were a part of the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) and students that had never really thought about joining the military.
“I grew up in a military family and I think that this was a great opportunity for the students that aren’t sure about joining the military. They got to hear first-hand what it is like to be in the Navy,” said Joyelle Garcia, an NJROTC cadet at Bowie High School.
There were students who had never met anyone in the military before the event.
“I think this is a great opportunity,” said Melvin Mallory, a junior at Bowie High School. “Some people did not get the opportunity to meet with someone in the military before this, and for me this was a good opportunity to find out first-hand what it is like to be in the military. I didn’t know that if I became a commissioned officer and kept getting promoted, I could be in charge of an entire fleet.”
Some teachers even sat in on the presentation.
“The sailors enlightened the students, many of them came in with misconceptions about what the Navy was all about, and the Sailors cleared those up,” said Andrew Foster, a Spanish teacher at Bowie High School. “The Sailors did a good job of clarifying what can be expected during training and after that. I even learned a lot about the Navy that I didn’t already know.”
This is the second year Sailors from NSAB have gone to Bowie High School for the career day presentation.
“I’ve come here twice now and I still really enjoy it,” said Religious Program Specialist 3rd Class Mauricio Melo. “I think when we come here it helps the students get the information they need to decide whether or not they want to join the military.”