The 85^th Army JROTC Battalion participated in the North Carolina A&T State University ROTC Day

---

Article by: C/1LT Paola Del Rello, S5

The 85^th Army JROTC Battalion participated in the North Carolina A&T State University ROTC Day on 5 November 2022.  This was a great opportunity for Army JROTC Cadets from across the Brigade.  The event started with breakfast and an introduction from the Professor of Military Science, Lieutenant Colonel Linda S. Wynn and Mr. Vincent Nicholson at the newly built world class North Carolina A&T Science and Technology auditorium. 

The Cadets were given several briefings to include a financial aid briefing, a Senior ROTC Cadet/Student discussion panel where the JROTC Cadets were able to ask questions about life after high school and some of the challenges going from JROTC to SROTC.  The Cadets had an opportunity to tour the campus getting a historical perspective to include the Greensboro Four, which started the nation’s sit-in movements on 1 February 1960. On February 1, 1960, David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), and Joe McNeil, four African American students from North Carolina A&T State University, staged a sit-in at the downtown Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter, a popular retail store that was known for refusing to serve African Americans. Not long after their protest, sit-ins began occurring across the South, including the North Carolina cities of Charlotte, Durham, and Winston-Salem. These young men came to be known as the Greensboro Four.

Inside the Technology Center, the Cadets had an opportunity to learn about Dr. Ronald McNair, 1975 NCATSU alumnus. Dr. McNair was an American NASA astronaut and physicist, that died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven. 

North Carolina A&T State University is a top-flight research university, the largest historically black university in the country with over 15,000 students graduate and undergraduate, the #1 producer of degrees awarded to African Americans in North Carolina and nationally recognized for its excellence in Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering (STEM) education.

The event culminated with a lunch on campus and attendance to the NCATSU vs Norfolk State Football game at Truist Stadium on the campus. 

“This was an exciting opportunity and we learned lots about college life and the Senior Reserve Officer Training programs, to include the many scholarships available to high school seniors,” says Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Brianna Serrano, the 85^th JROTC Cadet Battalion Commander.  “Overall, it was educational and a fun day for our JROTC Battalion.”  The 85^th JROTC Battalion is headed by Major Alexis McClain (Retired) and Sergeant Major Douglas Koser (Retired).