The St. Stephens High School Naval JROTC cadets are learning how to teach, learn, and lead by mentoring their Snow Creek Elementary neighbors. The cadets help themselves by helping others.

Every Wednesday the SSHS NJROTC cadets travel in full uniform to Snow Creek Elementary to tutor its younger students. They help students in all grades, k-6, with math, reading, and science. The thirty NJROTC cadets are split among teachers at Snow Creek with one common goal, to help their students succeed.

The Snow Creek students love the program and are eager to learn when the cadets arrive. “Nearly every day I have a student ask if the cadets are coming today. Our students sit at the windows waiting for the cadet’s to arrive,” said Susan Sigler, Snow Creek Guidance Counselor. The program provides the students of Snow Creek with tremendous growth in their weaker academic areas. Most importantly, the cadets’ mentoring gives these young students a positive outlook on learning.

While the younger students are the main focus of the program, the program also aims to give cadets confidence and leadership skills.

Cadets are seen by the elementary school students as role models. Their uniform and focus on discipline gives them an appearance of power. “Many of our cadets, being high school students and sixteen or seventeen year old kids, are shocked when the student they are mentoring calls them ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’,” said Master Chief Ray Cerda. “But it gives them a boost of confidence which translates into their own school work, extra-curricular activities, and future.”

Seeing the cadets in full uniform often distracts others from the fact that they are only teenagers and have many struggles of their own. The program tries to pair up cadets with students that have similar academic tendencies. For example, a cadet that has to work harder in reading and English at the high school level will mentor a Snow Creek student that needs help with reading at the elementary level. By witnessing the younger student’s problem and helping to fix it, the cadet gains a new confidence in the same subject that also requires more of their own efforts.   

Mentoring and leadership skills are a major part of the United States Navy and general adult life. By applying the skills they learned in the mentoring programs cadets will be able to quickly gain rank in the Navy or their future career.

Master Chief Cerda described the program as a “win, win situation” because the students, teachers, and cadets all reap tremendous benefits. “We are also gaining an upper hand on recruiting our future cadets,” he said, smiling.