MEDFORD, N.J. (AP) - What a difference four years have made in the life of Lenape High School senior Samantha Coon.
Once a quiet and timid girl who socialized little in her freshman year, today she is a senior with confidence who has improved her academics, communication skills, ability to work with and help others and her soccer skills, which landed her the starting spot as the varsity girls team goalie this year.
She also has risen to a leadership position as the Army cadet battalion commander of the school’s 101 students in its Junior Reserved Officer’s Training Corps (JROTC) - an achievement she never envisioned when she joined that program as a freshman.
For academic excellence, JROTC achievements, athletics and other endeavors, Coon has received the Bronze Cross for Achievement from the Legion of Valor, an organization of military heroes who have been awarded one of the two highest military honors a serviceman can receive - the Medal of Honor or Distinguished Service Cross.
Of the 14,000 JROTC high school and college ROTC cadets nominated internationally for this honor, she was among less than 75 chosen worldwide. The award is the second highest a cadet can received in JROTC.
“The chances of getting it were very low because there were so many applicants, so I did not expect it. It’s an honor to receive such a high award and it has boosted my confidence even further,” the 17-year-old said before leading her rifle drill team practice.
Retired Army lieutenant colonel Ron Tuczak, her lead JROTC instructor, said he believes she may be the first Lenape cadet ever to receive that award.
She credits the character-building JROTC program and its instructors with her development into a more mature, outgoing and responsible student and leader.
“For me, it made me develop personality-wise and otherwise. The instructors are always there for us and everyone is supportive of one another and works together as a team,” Coon said.
“I was quiet and kept to myself and had little confidence when I came to high school, but this training boosted my self-esteem and I opened up and took on challenges like the drill team.
She joined JROTC because she comes from a military family.
“This is what I grew up with. My whole life was, military, military, military. That’s what I know.”
Her plan is to attend Widener College to major in criminal justice and to eventually become a military policeman like her mother and possibly make the Army a career after entering the service post-college as a second lieutenant.
Her father is a retired Army captain who was in charge of a Patriot missile battalion while her older brother is a boatswains mate on a Coast Guard cutter.
Coon also credits the JROTC program and its instructors with her development into a more mature, outgoing and responsible student and leader.
“Her instructors are great mentors and have set her up for success by steering her to improve in the program,” said her mother, Heather Fasnacht, who served eight years in the Army.
“I am extemely proud of her and her accomplishments. She puts so much effort into the JROTC program and is well-deserving of it (the Legion of Valor Bronze Cross).”
School officials said Coon epitomizes both Lenape Indian Battalion’s motto, “Our Standard is Excellence,” and the most desirable traits for all cadets and leaders.
“Samantha is a scholar candidate who displays these characteristics on a daily basis - loyalty, initiative and integrity to name a few - and deserves every bit of this award recognition,” Tuczak said.
School Principal Anthony Cattani praised her dedication and conscientiousness.
“She possesses an infectious intellectual curiosity and demonstrates exceptional leadership in all that she does,” he added.
Tuckzak said as a direct result of demonstrated leadership and initiative, Coon was selected above more experienced cadets to serve first as a platoon sergeant and later was promoted to battalion commander.
He said she set herself apart from her peers by volunteering to lead the armed drill team’s inspection events several years ago and now also heads its athletic endurance teams called the Raiders.
“Not only did she execute her duties faithfully, she played a pivotal role in the Lenape High School Army JROTC earning recognition as South Jersey Drill Team Champions and personally led her inspection platoon, both armed and unarmed, to multiple first place trophies.
He said the battalion has consistently performed well since then, earning 11 first place finishes through last year in drill team inspection events.
“This unprecedented achievement allowed the Indian Battalion Drill Team to win the South Jersey League Championship for two consecutive years and the right to compete at the National level for the first time in its 24-year history,” he wrote in her nomination letter.
Coon’s drill team again finished in first place at the Jan. 11 competition among nine high schools and held at Central Regional High School in Bayville while the battalion finished second overall in event categories.
He also said he appreciates Coon’s “spunkiness” and “quick wit.”
Tuzak said JROTC is more than military training because it also focuses on diversity, the U.S. Constitution, first aid, personal trait improvement and careers in the service branches.
At a recent drill team practice with her troops, who carry disabled Springfield rifles, Coon orders were as clear and commanding as active duty Army drill sergeants give.
“Present arms!” the leader of the rifle drill team shouted, followed by other orders like “Order arms!” and “March!” as the cadets responded in unison. Afterward she checked foot and row alignments while inspecting the red hoodie sweatshirt-clad cadets.
Sophomore cadet Isabella Borden called the battalion commander a “strong leader” who is looked up to while cadet Julia Backus said Coon is “always motivated, which has a domino effect on all the cadets.”
Cadet Sgt. Major Robert Hamilton described Coon as very professional, well respected, welcoming to cadets coming into the program and relating to them well.
Recently, Coon led a formal familiarization briefing for Col. Frederick J. Toti, the new 2nd Brigade Commander of the U.S. Army Cadet Command in Fort Dix, who called her a “leader of character who will go far in whatever path she chooses in life.”
“She is an impressive young lady who gave an outstanding presentation and overview of the Lenape JROTC program. Her leadership is quite evident and is exemplified in this high performing program which has multiple awards and trophies.”
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