Senior Sarah Nevin has been participating in Jarrettsville’s Young Marines (YM) program for three years. On Aug. 1, Nevin was selected to become this year’s honor graduate at Advanced Leadership School (ALS). 

     Nevin had to compete against other Young Marines and receive the highest score in the nation to receive her title of honor graduate. Only the top of their program is admitted to Advanced Leadership School to get a chance at getting the honor graduate title, according to Nevin.

    Placing first in the nation out of 33 other candidates came by “surprise” to the Young Marine due to her only being in the program since 2017. Her inspiration for “hard work and dedication” to push through the Advanced Leadership School came from the former Division Young Marine of the year, Young Marine Sergeant Maj Macie Ross.

     Receiving the title was a “huge honor” according to YM First Sergeant Nevin. She adds “this achievement will be an excellent” title to add to her resumes when entering a military academy and medical school after high school. Nevin plans on furthering her education to become a “physician in the Army.”

     She plans on using her learned skills of “time management, self-discipline, and confidence” to guide herself through her higher education and beyond. The Young Marine believes her strongest skill set is “leadership and time management.” These skills can be demonstrated through Nevins “crazy schedule” of juggling Young Marines, High School, and three sports.

     For Nevin, Young Marines started out as just something to do during her free time. She describes that the program has now become a “major part of [her] life and has formed [her] to who [she] is today.” She includes that Young Marines has shown her a new side of her life.

     Nevin meets with her unit in Jarrettsville every other weekend from nine a.m. to one p.m. and performs drills. These can include close order drill practices, classes, uniform inspections, and games to bond as a unit. 

     One of Nevin’s “favorite” memories during drills would include when she was in full uniform and masks for five and a half hours. She “loved how everyone was motivating each other to continue through the heat and pain” of the physical drill.

     In Nevin’s interview with The Baltimore Sun, she mentioned that she “learned more about [herself] in one week than [she] had in her whole life.”

     Going in-depth on that quote, she includes that she was essentially given a personality leadership test at the ALS that would categorize her into four groups. The YM First Sergeant was “skeptical” about how you could categorize everyone in the world down to four types. 

     She was “so grateful” for the test because she was able to realize she was not alone in the way she thinks and processes in leadership.