by Sarah Kulick
From Friday, August 1st to Monday, August 4th, four students from Woodbridge High School participated in the New Jersey State Trooper Youth Week at the State Police Training Academy in Sea Girt, New Jersey.
Out of a pool of over one thousand applicants, 180 students from across the state were selected to participate based on rigorous qualifications and requirements, including a recommendation by a school administrator or law enforcement agency among others; good reputation and moral character; and good academic standing in addition to physical requirements, including those pertaining to personal grooming.
Seniors Eddie Concitis, Connor Taylor, and James Morra, as well as junior Nick Kuchie, woke each morning at 4:30 AM and trained–rain or shine–until 10:00 PM.
The students report that the training has affected how the students carry themselves, echoing part of the Trooper Youth Week Honor Code, “Honor, Duty, Fidelity.”
According to njsp.org, “The program is designed…to inspire high moral and ethical standards, and to foster a vision where service to others takes priority over self interest.”
Three of the students are participating in Woodbridge High School’s new Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. The expectation is that the Trooper Youth Week training will help the students as they transition into youth leaders and role models for students throughout the school.
