The air inside the building was thick with silence and focus as senior Liliana Sherman lined up her sights, kept her breath steady, and eyes locked. It was the final round of a major competition, and though nerves clouded her thoughts, her teammates never doubted her. By the end of the match, she had secured second place out of 88 shooters—proof of just how far she had come since her first hesitant step into JROTC.
“I’ve been in JROTC since my freshman year,” Liliana said. “Honestly, I’ve learned a lot of leadership skills through it. It made me really come out of my shell, because freshman year I was the quiet person at the way back of the class like, ‘Please don’t talk to me, don’t make eye contact with me,’ but now I am very talkative.”
That transformation started before she ever wore the uniform. Encouraged by her older brother, Liliana first picked up a rifle in eighth grade while tagging along with the marksmanship team.
“My big brother—he was two years above me and he also joined his freshman year—so they were immediately like, ‘When are you going to join?’” Liliana said. “His freshman year would have been my eighth-grade year, and I was shooting alongside them, so it’s where I first started doing marksmanship in general.”
When Liliana first started JROTC, her instructor noticed that she had a quiet, reserved personality. However, in four years of advancing through the ranks of the cadets, he said he has seen her grow in countless ways.
“Lily was a little shy when she came into the program. Kind of reserved,” JROTC instructor Jeffery Bounds said. “We got her into leadership positions and stuff like that. We’ve seen her grow as a cadet.”
Alongside her accomplishments in the program, Liliana scored the highest out of everyone in JROTC and the second highest in the district.
“Within ROTC itself, becoming the corps commander is a big achievement—absolutely amazing,” Liliana said. “But I’ve also earned a bunch of ribbons and earned my expert badge in marksmanship.”
Her accomplishments in marksmanship have stood out this year, especially as she continued to build on her previous success.
“Liliana has earned her expert badge this year in marksmanship, which is the highest badge you can earn,” Bounds said. “She was the second top shooter out of 88 shooters. She did well this year.”
This year, Liliana’s main focus in marksmanship involved not overthinking the small things and keeping a positive mindset about the high scores she had earned.
“I’ve learned not to get worked up over small mistakes,” Liliana said. “The number of times I’ve accidentally shot outside of the target, and I would sit there and beat myself up about it. Then I would go back and look at my scores, and I’d be like, ‘That score was still fine! What was I talking about?’”
Although Liliana has experienced a large amount of success throughout her high school career, she believes that one of the main adversities she has experienced is the social part of JROTC, which is also a large part of the organization.
“My biggest challenge was becoming more comfortable talking to people,” Liliana said. “Because, again, I don’t like social interactions, but through ROTC, I’ve had to become more comfortable with it.”
Some of the support Liliana received during her time at Bryan High has come during some of the most unexpected moments, like a team trip to an ice cream parlor.
“I was just sitting there crying about not thinking I shot well at a tournament, and my sergeant walks up and says, ‘Go up to the cashier and tell them what ice cream flavor you want’,” Liliana said. “So I walked up there with a giddy little smile, and I’m like, ‘Chocolate, please,’ and everything was a little better.”
Marksmanship teammates have seen Liliana’s impact on the team through her dedication and quick adjustments.
“Liliana is a good leader because of her ability to listen, adapt, and communicate,” senior Cayden Thacker said. “All those qualities make them well-rounded as leaders.”
Liliana has been a part of JROTC for the past four years and encourages students who are interested in a future with the program to include it in their schedule as soon as possible.
“JROTC is like a big family,” Liliana said. “We get angry at each other sometimes, but we still love each other, and if anyone thinks they might be interested, they should talk with their counselor about joining.”
Liliana plans to enlist in the military after high school and hopes to pursue marksmanship in ROTC.
“I’m enlisted in the Army National Guard, and I plan on trying to continue my marksmanship through it—but if not, that’s fine,” Liliana said. “After I graduate, I’m going to take a gap year, but I’m planning to go into an actual ROTC instead of a JROTC.”
Bounds is saddened to see Liliana leave after being in the program for so long, but hopes that students under her guidance will follow in Liliana’s impactful footsteps.
“Liliana has been a great cadet in the program,” Bounds said. “It’s going to be sad to see her graduate and leave, but I know she’s taught our other cadets well, and they’ll be able to fill her shoes.”
