The J.R. Tucker High School Marine Corps JROTC Academic Team won national runner-up at the 2021 U.S. Marine Corps JROTC Academic Bowl Championship in Washington D.C. and brought the trophy home to Henrico on the train.
The Tigers didn’t have tradition when they started their program three years ago, so they’re building their own. Despite competing for only a few years, the team has established itself as a national force. In 2019, the Tigers took the championship of all the Marine Corps JROTC teams in the nation! Last year, with a strong team, the J.R. Tucker program qualified to compete in the nationals AGAIN — one of only eight teams in the U.S. to do so. (Unfortunately, the 2020 competition was shut down by the pandemic.) This week, the Tigers returned to come within a whisker of taking the title again.
In qualifying for the championships in April, the team earned top scores out of the 91 Marine Corps JROTC academic teams that competed from around the world — and was one of only eight teams in the nation to advance to the 2021 championship at Catholic University.
The Tigers’ team includes seniors Maliha Chowdhury (Team Captain) and Aidan Kennedy; junior Sharon Albert, and sophomore Natalie Sherlock. The competitions test participants on their knowledge of core curricula such as math, science and language arts as well as current events, citizenship and leadership skills.
The event is sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps JROTC and is conducted by the College Options Foundation, and the J.R. Tucker team’s expenses are covered as part of their win. The JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl is a nationally recognized competition created exclusively for JROTC students. It is designed to promote citizenship, academic competition, and college opportunities, and enables JROTC cadets to demonstrate leadership and academic abilities.
Way to go, Tigers!
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