This year Mya Rubio (11) won the Honorary Cadet award. She is the first Southeast student to win in at least the last 14 years.

“The top Cadet board is a board of JROTC cadets who are led by three or four, meaning you’ve been in the program for three to four years. They compete based on knowledge grades and how they uphold themselves,” Rubio said.

Cadets go through a series of multiple events. Rubio was tested on current events, marching and leadership skills.

“Some of the criteria they were looking for are leadership questions. One of the main things they asked me was current events and that is just something I was well rounded, which helped me in that process because of the debate,” she said.

Being the junior representative for top cadets this is a big honor for a JROTC member. “The impact the board has had on me is that my confidence level has gone up,” Rubo said. “I feel proud of my program. I have created this community for these younger kids to come to me and talk to me and ask me questions so they can set goals for themselves like I did.”

Rubio said she’s interested in naval piloting and aviation for the military.

“I’ve been flying and one thing I hope to do is to be a naval pilot,” she said.

JROTC instructor Shannon Pool chose Rubio as his best cadet. He says he’s never had a cadet win first place in all his years of teaching.

“This is my 14th year teaching here and I have not had a student win the top Cadet out of the Honor Cadet Board at this the junior senior level,” Pool said.

Mya will lead an example for the current cadets and new ones for the upcoming years as the program shoots for first place again in the following years.

“It’s an outstanding honor. We have 270 cadets. There’s over 2400 cadets in the programs across Wichita,” Pool said. “So to be picked as the top junior senior cadet, out of all of those cadets is an extremely, extremely high honor and shows how much she’s worked to learn in and be the top cadet.”