Arroyo Valley Army JROTC team earns spot in National Academic Bowl Championship

The Arroyo Valley High School (AVHS) Army JROTC Leadership Team is 1 of only 40 such teams in the nation to win an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the prestigious 2020-2021 JROTC Leadership & Academic Bowl (JLAB).

JLAB is a nationally recognized competition created exclusively for JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) students. Participating cadets learn the values of citizenship and academic competition as they are tested on their knowledge of current events, leadership skills, and leadership values.

The four members of the AVHS JROTC Leadership Team, Isaiah Cruz, Dayana Duran, MaKayla Keeme-Anweiler, and Francisco Mondragon-Avila, earned top scores in the first two rounds of leadership and academic competition. After beating out 1,471 other Army JROTC teams to land in the top 40, the team will head to Washington, D.C. to compete in the championship event at the Catholic University of America, which starts Monday, July 19. The five-day event is sponsored by the U.S. Army Cadet Command and is conducted by the College Options Foundation.

“I am very happy for our proud cadets and their recent success. They faced many tough challenges this past school year, and they succeeded. Their success is what makes teaching so rewarding for me and my colleagues,” said AVHS teacher Major Rick Williams. “They did it for themselves, with much pride and dedication, making hope happen.”

“I am so proud of these students, but especially so considering they had to overcome the obstacles that COVID-19 brought to students across California,” said AVHS Principal Bernardo Valenzuela Torres.

College Options Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the academic development of high school students and assisting them in preparing for higher education. College Options Foundation has assisted the nation’s JROTC cadets worldwide for nearly two decades.