A contingent of Bedford High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps members will be going bowling in Washington, DC in late June.
But strikes, spares, splits, and shoes are not on the agenda. Not even close.
A BHS team is one of 16 qualifiers for the national Junior ROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl (JLAB). The finalists prevailed over about 1,800 teams in the first two rounds of the competition.
The BHS teammates are juniors Selima Chan, Kelly Aweh-Kisob, and Julian Caro, and freshmen Shreyes Shivappa, Aidan McDonald, and Gianna Carrier. Four will compete in the bowl; the other two are alternates.
High school seniors were not eligible, as they will be alumni during the June 24-28 competition.
“This competition fields academic questions from current events, English, math, and JROTC knowledge, essentially a Jeopardy-type competition,” explained Charles Humphrey, the retired Air Force master sergeant who is a member of the ROTC faculty at BHS.
Teams competed in the first phase in November and the second phase in February. Humphrey said he and his faculty colleague, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Ken Mierz, were notified of the team’s success early this week.
“Our team did so well in the preliminary rounds,” Mierz told the School Committee at its virtual meeting Tuesday. The committee approved the students’ travel to Washington; all expenses are paid.
Humphrey noted that the BHS team could emerge as a qualifier for the all-services competition, against teams from the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
Mierz and Humphrey expressed pride in the students’ achievement. “They worked so diligently, and their hard work truly paid off,” the teachers stated.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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