LIMESTONE, Maine — The Loring Job Corps Honor Guard is back from a recent business trip to Washington, D.C. where they were invited to post the nation’s colors in honor of Job Corps’ 50-year anniversary.
Loring Honor Guard members Roselin Aris, Elliott Thomas, Kenneth Robinson, Christian Algarin Cruz, Jamell Quinones and Adam Jutras joined over 2,000 other Job Corps students, instructors, as well as state senators at the National Leadership and Training Conference held in Washington.
“It was crazy,” Quinones said.
“We got to interact with other Job Corps members. It showed me somebody cares and it showed me I’m not alone,” Aris said.
Publicly displaying our nation’s flag and others takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Not only do the Honor Guard members have to memorize a series of steps and movements, they meet multiple times a week and participate in physical activities. But it all comes down to that one moment when they’re in front of the crowd, marching and presenting our country’s emblem with honor.
“Posting colors shows respect,” Aris said. “It’s not something every student gets to do,” Robinson said. “It feels awesome when we get it right.”
“The trip was very successful,” Job Corps liaison Roger Felix said. “Our Honor Guard went above and beyond and showed respect for our fallen heroes.”
The trip was also an opportunity to meet with peers from across the country and tour the capital and made stops at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, WW II and Vietnam memorials, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and more.
Robinson, who would like to someday go into the military, said that visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was inspiring, “It was pretty cool. It showed the amount of respect our country has for past soldiers.”
As members of the Honor Guard the Loring contingent learns loyalty and what it takes to be a leader.
“I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t in Honor Guard,” Quinones said. “It has helped me push further in my trade. I started off rough, but Honor Guard has helped keep me motivated.”
After returning from the week-long experience Honor Guard members said they enjoyed having the opportunity to bond, make connections and see some amazing sights.
“I learned we can do better as a team,” Thomas said. “We thought we would be terrible, but we did pretty good.”
