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The Motivated cadets of Paloma Valley High School’s NJROTC “Wildcat Company” have once again demonstrated their commitment to service and teamwork through a 10-day canned food drive that exceeded all expectations.
With a company goal of 1,000 cans, the cadets organized a friendly competition among their six platoons to see which could collect the most donations. The drive started strong across the board, but before long, 1st Platoon pulled ahead under the leadership of Senior McKenna Jordan, the Company’s Executive Officer.
Two standout freshmen from 1st Platoon, Makaela Daniel and Skye Drake, led the charge by collecting more than 200 cans between them—an impressive effort that helped push the company well past its goal.
By the end of the event, the Wildcat Company had gathered a total of 1,158 cans, which were delivered to the Menifee Valley Community Cupboard in Sun City by the Senior Naval Science Instructor LCDR (ret) Patricia Taylor.
When asked how it felt to take part in the unit’s canned food drive, Gabriel Dunn, Battlecat Drill Team Commander, said, “It feels good to be able to give a little back to our city.”
Reflecting on the effort, Naval Science Instructor Frank Puebla remarked, “One of the concepts we share with the cadets is that the best leaders serve others and therefore the best organizations serve other organizations. To say that I am proud that my cadets embraced this concept and put it into action with their honest efforts would be an absolute understatement. We have amazing cadets.”
The Paloma Valley NJROTC program, which earned the Distinguished Unit Award last year, is well-known for its high standards of fitness, precision in close-order drill, and strong sense of community pride. This latest achievement reinforces the cadets’ ongoing dedication to service, leadership, and making a positive impact beyond their school walls.
