The military is very present at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, shown through the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program, and the relative Aerospace classes offered. For many people, it’s an optional and informative class they enjoy. For nearly everyone at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, is frequently presented as the a major post-high school career path other than going straight into college, or a job.  

I frequently see the military at our school during lunch, when the Navy, Army, or Marines come to recruit kids as young as 14 years old to enlist. The purpose of these visits is to show students what they can do after high school as an alternative to college. Colleges visits are also held at Roosevelt, usually in the guidance office during classes. If colleges cannot reach out to students during lunch, in order to make sure they don’t have to miss class time, why can military organizations?

ERHS also offers a college fair, where students come after school to see many colleges all at once, as well as military academies. Opportunities for students who do not plan on attending a four year university frequently include community college, volunteer service, vocational or trade school, and the military. In the four years I’ve been at ERHS, the most famous post-high school volunteer services, such as The Peace Corps and Americorps, have never visited to talk to high school students about their program. Prince George’s Community College and vocational schools have rarely visited, and the military has visited frequently throughout these four years. I have seen the Navy, Army, Marine corps, and Air Force.

If you don’t want to be in the military, you don’t have to go to the table and listen to what the organization has to stay, so it is a useful resource to some people that they do visit ERHS during lunch. However, if you are not planning on going to college, the only other opportunity presented to you is the military. While it clearly is beneficial for the military organization to target students that don’t know what to do after graduation, I wonder if it is beneficial for the students at our school. The lack of other options presented to students may leave them not knowing what to do, or not knowing what they can do. If ERHS is able to present students going to college with hundreds of options and assist them throughout that process, they should help students with a different choice the same amount of aid in choosing what to do. ERHS should be dedicated to having organizations like Americorps, community colleges such as PGCC, and vocational schools present opportunities to students, and aid them in whatever path they choose after graduation as much as they aid those students who attend college.