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Elite camp lets cadets focus on technology

Two Hernando High Junior ROTC cadets are among 500 chosen for the national program, which gave them a taste of college and the military.

By MARYAN PELLAND
Published August 31, 2006

	[Times photo: Keri Wiginton]
	Rachel Campbell gets help with her uniform from Col. James Crigger before having her photo taken with Alicia Collins, a fellow Hernando High School Junior ROTC member. The cadets were two of 500 chosen from 1,600 nationwide to attend Science Technology Camp. Campbell attended camp at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Out of 107,000 students in the national Junior ROTC program, 500 cadets were competitively selected for Science Technology Camp this summer - and two were from Hernando County.

Qualifying cadets needed a 3.0 grade point average, to be a junior or a senior, and recommendations by the cadet's unit, school and commanding officer.

Across the country, 16,000 students were nominated, including Rachel Campbell and Alicia Collins of Hernando High School.

"Some tough choices had to be made for sure," said Col. James Crigger, Junior ROTC commander at Hernando High.

Both Campbell and Collins made the cut and both cadets said they loved the experience. Crigger said they each had the chance to fly a Cessna 172.

Campbell camped at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Collins went to the University of Oklahoma in Norman. For his part, Crigger ran a camp at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, one of several dozen being staged across the country each July.

For Collins, the best part was a high-wire crossing, part of her physical training class. Cadets climbed 60-foot telephone poles, crossing from one to another by means of swinging and pulley riding.

"I just stood back, held on and jumped," Collins said. "The colonel said I was fighter pilot material."

Campbell's Challenger simulator ranked as her highlight. She was a communication specialist on a "Mars transport vehicle" caught in a sandstorm. Her crew members did seat-of-their-pants emergency liftoff with no instructions.

"It was very, very cool," she said.

Campbell said the cadets lived on an active base and worked with regular military crews. Part of her session included a town meeting with instructors from the university. The topic was, "What's wrong with our schools?"

Her answer was "lack of student involvement.

"The reason people get in trouble is they have no organization to devote time to. Like me in freshman year. I had nothing to do with my time except annoy teachers. Then Colonel said to try ROTC and now I'll be career military. Maybe the Air Force Academy or ROTC in college. Hopefully I'll become a pilot," Campbell said.

She said she enjoyed the experience and thought she got a taste of what college life would be like.

Neither cadet is completely sure of their career focus yet, though they both think the military could play a role.

Crigger enjoyed the science camp experience, too. He said the program began because of the perception that the United States lags behind other nations in science and technology.

Day 1 looked like this: Up at 6:30 a.m. for breakfast, then a field trip to Lockheed to visit C-130 production lines, followed by midday lunch. A bus trip back to base, then briefing on engineering competition and aerodynamics. The afternoon was model airplane building in teams, followed by dinner, more building, and lights out at 10:45 that night. Not a moment wasted.

But he said he would do it again in a heartbeat. His favorite part, he said, was dealing with 50 cream-of-the-crop cadets.

"There's nothing more exciting than working with 50 kids who want to accomplish something," he said.

[Last modified August 31, 2006, 06:28:25]