Young Marines Graduations Our 2017 Graduates.Congratulations to all! --Submitted by Daniel Martin, East Valley (AZ) Young Marines YM/SgtMaj Piotrowski joined the Ashtabula County Young Marines as a member of our charter class on September 27 of 2008. During his time in the Young Marines, Jacob worked very hard to better himself as a leader and a person and rose to the rank of SgtMaj. He showed dedication to the program in all that he did. In addition to attending all leadership acad- emies, Jacob also had the opportunity to attend SCUBA school, in which he graduated as the honor graduate of the class and then was immediately invited back the next summer by the instructor to act as an assistant instructor and dive master for the next class. YM/SgtMaj Piotrowski, with four other members of our unit, also had the opportunity to attend the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor commemoration in Honolulu. Piotrowski was twice Young Marine of the Year in our unit, and also received the Dave Sawdey award, a unit award of excellence given to a Young Marine who has demonstrated excellence in appear- ance and other areas. It is a memorial award to our founding UC, David Sawdey, USMC. Piotrowski was honorably discharged in 2014 after his gradu- ation of high school. Since then, Jacob has been attending Nor- wich University,The Military College of Vermont and birthplace of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and has been studying Business Management with a concentration in Marketing. While at Norwich, Jacob received a contract through the Ma- rine Corps Platoon Leaders Course to commission as an officer upon graduation. Jacob then went further and was awarded a 2-year full scholarship through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Norwich University. During the summer of 2017, Jacob will be attending Officer Candidate’s School Brown Field, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia for 6 weeks. Upon successful completion of OCS and his undergraduate degree, Jacob will be commissioning as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in May of 2018,and upon commissioning, he will be heading to flight school in Pensacola, FL where he will start his training as a Marine aviator. Jacob has signed an 8-year contract with the Marine Corps.We are all very proud of Jacob for all he has done and for the path he has chosen to take in life. We are honored to have a part in his life while in the Young Marines. He is a great example of how much the Young Marines can do for you and how far you can go if you really dedicate yourself and push yourself to be a better Young Marine and a better person every day. -- Submitted by Kenneth (Doc) Lee, Unit Commander Ashtabula County Ashtabula, Ohio See Where He Is Today: One Young Marine’s Journey Congratulations to all our new Young Marines, and to all those who taught and nurtured them. Good Work! Unit: Northern Kentucky Date: May 27,2017 U/C: Lynne Arnold Honor Grad: Bryana Gallegos A total of nine recruits graduated Unit: Miami Valley (OH) Date: May 27, 2017 U/C: Keegan Miller Unit: Mecklenburg County (NC) Date: June 3, 2017 U/C: Jonathan Henderson Honor Grad: YM/PFC Benjamin Guadarrama Graduation Class 17-1 (L to R) YM Pvt Noll, YM Pvt Albright, and YM Pvt Howard. --Submitted by Keegan Miller, Miami Valley (OH) Young Marines Welcome to the Young Marines Family, Class 17-01! On Saturday, April 8, 2017 my Young Marines and I were proud to welcome thirteen new Young Marines to our unit. Many of them impressed me by earning a perfect PFT score during recruit training! Way to go, Young Marines! -- Submitted by YM/GySgt Micenna Brooks, Etowah Valley (GA) Young Marines 26 YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT