SHS holds Armed Forces signing day

Swainsboro High School, in partnership with the Georgia Army National Guard and Georgia Southern University Military Science Department, hosted a signing day on Friday, January 17, to celebrate the six students who have enlisted in the military during their senior year. With their enlistment, they also join a college-level ROTC program and earn a higher rank upon graduating from college. Their college major will help them move toward a specific job during their military service. Zybrionna Ford plans to attend Georgia Southern University and major in nursing; Jeremiah Herrington also plans to attend GSU and major in mechani-cal engineering. Sha’Riya McClendon plans to attend the Citadel in South Carolina and ma-jor in forensic science; Celaya McLeod plans to attend Clark Atlanta University and major in cyber security. Mauriya Walden plans to attend Savannah State University and major in so-ciology. Travis Smith plans to attend GSU as a general studies major. Enlistees were given stoles to wear at graduation.

Cadets in the SHS Color Guard presented colors, and many Armed Forces recruiters and rep-resentatives were in attendance, as well as family members of the enlistees, teachers, fellow students, and local veterans.

Staff Sergeant Camron Walker, Georgia Army National Guard Recruiter from Statesboro, pre-sented SHS JROTC instructors Major Eddie Oliver and First Sergeant Philip Robinson with plaques to show appreciation for all their hard work growing the program and helping the young people in our school/community realize their potential.

Principal Brandon Andrews provided remarks, stressing the importance of post-secondary options. He said, “Part of the vision of SHS is to promote college and career readiness. Our JROTC program offers a meaningful pathway for our students, and these military opportu-nities provide real-world experience. We are very proud of our enlistees and their choice to serve our country.”