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Westside senior receives JROTC leadership award
Oct 23, 2020
In The News
Westside senior receives JROTC leadership award
Written by Logan Whaley
Published by KAIT8
BONO, Ark. (KAIT) – Cadet Laityn Tippy, a senior at Westside High School, won the Air Force JROTC Leadership Award, recognizing the most outstanding cadet in the world.
Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) presented the award to Tippy at the Westside Fine Arts Center on Wednesday.
Tippy is the Cadet Commander for the top Air Force JROTC (AFJROTC) program in the state according to the Air Force Association. The unit received the Distinguished Unit with Merit Award last school year, based on their “Exceeds Standards” rating on an HQ AFJROTC inspection in November.
Out of 890 Air Force JROTC Units and over 125,000 cadets in the United States, Tippy was selected to receive the Leadership Award.
“I’m very humbled,” Tippy said. “I just work really hard at what I do, I enjoy it, I think that’s really the only way you’re going to get where you want to be.”
Tippy currently ranks at the top of her senior class with a 4.0 grade point average, while participating in the National Honor Society, Student Council, and the Westside Track and Cross Country teams.
Each of the 890 units across the country selected their top cadet, leading to nearly 50 state and area winners. From there, eight regional winners are selected and then, one overall winner.
Tippy was one of only 200 cadets to be selected to attend the Air Force JROTC Flight Academy, a summer scholarship program, valued at over $25,000. There, she will receive her private pilot license.
“Cadet Tippy is more than deserving of this award and we are so proud to have her as the leader of our unit and our school,” Major Scott Norman, the ADJROTC Instructor at Westside High School, said. “As great as she is as an AFJROTC cadet, she is even a better person.”
Tippy is in the process of applying for the Air Force Academy with plans to be an officer and a pilot.