Thomas Jefferson High school – “A Word from a JA Student” Speaker for Junior Achievement’s Hall of Fame Fundraising dinner.

Writer – SAI: MAJ Hilda Starks

Photographer –

The Thomas Jefferson High school JROTC program is extremely proud to announce that Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Esmeralda Hueta was selected by the Junior Achievement of South Texas organization to be the guest speaker at their annual Junior Achievement SA Business Hall of Fame fundraising dinner.

C/LTC Huerta delivered her speech March 18, 2025, at the Marriot River Center in San Antonio, Texas, where she spoke on how her experience volunteering for Junior Achievement during all four years of high school has impacted her life and the lives of the kids she has taught. Junior Achievement prepares their volunteers to teach elementary school kids the importance of financial literacy, work and career readiness and entrepreneurship. Thomas Jefferson JROTC collaborates with Junior Achievement of South Texas to volunteer as part of the Service-Learning Project required every year. Junior Achievement helps the cadets learn how to give classes to elementary kids and the cadets get to provide a service to their community simultaneously, which is the objective for the service-learning project.

The dinner was attended by over 300 highly esteemed business leaders, community board members, investors, educators and volunteers. Junior Achievement successfully raised funds to keep investing in the lives of over 77 thousand South Texas students this coming year.