Jessica Connell (left), the NJROTC chief petty officer at Richland Northeast, helps a new cadet during a drill. A junior in the Horizon magnet program, Connell was among the top students at the Area 6 Leadership Academy. Jessica Connell, a junior in Richland Northeast High School's highly competitive Horizon program, was the top–ranking female cadet at this summer’s Area 6 Leadership Academy, held at Coastal Carolina University. Connell, who has been a member of the Naval Junior ROTC program at RNE since her freshman year and is this year’s cadet chief petty officer, earned an overall score of 90.6, one–tenth of a point behind the male cadet who took first.

“I was the only girl in the top ten, but if I could go again, I’d work harder," said Connell, who was a squad leader in the drill competition.

Not that she didn’t work hard. According to Sergeant Major Gary Daniel, her instructor at RNE, cadets “arrive on a Monday, check–in, are put into platoons, and quickly have to get their rooms prepared. They spend long days and nights going from class to class, back to their room continuously to get it ready for inspection, and studying for tests. Sleep deprivation becomes prevalent after the first day, and the cadets must learn to handle themselves while they are exhausted. Jessica got four hours of sleep each night.”

Connell credits Sgt. Maj. Daniel, who retired from the U.S. Mar ine Corps, with honing her competitive spirit. “He’s my role model. He always tries to push every cadet to do the best she can and succeed in life. He tries to help everyone. He’s always positive, always motivated. When I star ted ROTC, I could do only three pushups. At the leadership academy, I did 43 in the time allotted for the PT test.”

The Leadership Academy included 62 units from North and South Carolina. Students must be chosen by their senior naval science instructor, have minimum GPA of 2.5, pass two physical training tests, and be among the top five percent of cadets at their schools.

Now Connell is aiming for Duke, Emory, Brown, or another top school that offers an NJROTC scholarship. “I’ve always been an overachiever,” she said. “I always do my best. My parents don’t really push me. Maybe that’s what it was—because they don’t push me, I like showing them that I can be the best I can be on my own.”