MEET THE PARENTS

FALL PARENTS’ WEEKEND

By Cadet Ray Jin

  Wentworth Military Academy & College hosted the Fall Parents’ Weekend in October.  Parents were invited to meet with faculty and staff to discuss the progress of their cadet.  They were also invited to eat dinner in the dining hall.  Ameriserve had a delicious meal for them.

 On Friday night, parents had the option to ride a bus to the football game to a neighboring town to watch the Red Dragons take on the Santa Fe Chiefs.  It wasn’t a good outcome for the Dragons, but everyone had a good time cheering and the boys played hard.

 On Saturday, the soccer team took to the field against St. Charles Community College.  The Red Dragons lost 3-2 in a hard fought match.  The parents then took part in the much anticipated parent’s drill down, a competition to see how well the parents could perform drill and ceremony.  The Cadet/1SGTs took charge and drilled the parents until only one was left.  The winner was the parent of Cadet Brett Heckman.

Following the drill down, cadets could check out overnight with their parents and enjoy some time together.

Parents compete in the Parent's Drill Down

OCTOBER FUN DAY: SPOOKY GOOD FUN

Spooky Good Fun

By Cadets Rose Mendez and Taylor Jones

     The High School Cadets are doing a great job keeping their grades up in school. As a reward, they are given a day of fun each month. Captain Griffin and Captain Davis were in charge of October’s activity. It was exciting and nerve racking at the same time!  October is the month of Halloween and that’s what made this fun day even more fun. Each advisory group was in charge of dividing their members into three groups. There were three projects. Each advisory group had to have a decorated pumpkin, a scarecrow, and a decorated door, all done within three hours. The winners were judged on creativity, originality, effort, detail, and how spooky they were.

     First place on the pumpkin decoration was the advisory group of 

Cpt. Hensen and Cpt. Robbins. Cadet Philip Commins had the idea to build a Gourdzilla out of three pumpkins. The team used carrots as the “scales” down Gourdzilla’s back. With the help of his two team members, Guadalupe Mendez and Toby Zhong, they were able to finish earlier than expected. 

     Maj. Christian and Cpt. Meyer’s advisory won first place for both the door decoration and the scarecrow. Working on the scarecrow was the team of cadets Rose Mendez, Taylor Jones, and Yinchu Zhao. “We wanted to make a scarecrow that wouldn’t look like the others, made of hay, so we came up with the idea to build it out of sticks. It gave us great results.” said Rose Mendez. The team managed to finish right before time was up. “It was a lot of hard work.” commented Taylor Jones. Decorating the door was very stressful as well. Paper needed to be cut perfectly in order for the drawing to make sense. It was all about “The Shadow” and the shadow had to be cut out perfectly. Thankfully everything worked out and the team managed to wrap it up at the end.  The door decorators were Cadets Edward Jiao, Dane Li, and Kazi Maimuna.

Complete Results:

Decorated Door:

1st Place: The Shadow, by Maj. Christian and Cpt. Meyer’s advisory

2nd place: CTO, by Cpt. Hensen and Cpt. Robbin’s advisory’

3rd place: Madeline Wentworth, by Cpt. Davis and Cpt. Lang’s advisory

Pumpkins:

1st place: Gourdzilla, by Cpt. Hensen and Cpt. Robbin’s advisory

2nd place: Jason, by Cpt. McClafferty and Cpt. McLauren’s advisory

TIE:

3rd place: The Joker, by Cpt. Brock and Cpt. Griffin’s advisory

3rd place: Scapegourd, by Cpt. Blomquist and Cpt. Crutchfield’s advisory

Scarecrow:

1st place: Apoco-lipz, by Maj. Christian and Cpt. Meyer’s advisory

2nd place: Down to Earth, by Cpt. Davis and Cpt. Lang’s advisory

TIE :

3rd place: Nima Wang, by Cpt. Brock and Cpt. Griffin’s advisory.

3rd place: Cadet S Crow, by Cpt. Anderson and Maj. Fiora’s advisory

Congratulations to the Winners!

The Shadow

Acopo-lipz

The pumpkin creations on display.

Gourdzilla with co-creator Philip Commins.

Madeline Wentworth

UPCOMING CAMPUS EVENTS

Upcoming events:

By Ali Al-Yahya

NOVEMBER

- 17th, Start of International Week.

- 19th, Mexican Consulate and Chef.

- 22nd, Stand by room inspection.

- 23rd, Veterans Recognition Day.

- 26th, Thanksgiving break begins.

- 30th, Thanksgiving break ends.

DECEMBER

- 4th, Final exams begin.

- 5th, Festival of Lights Parade in downtown Lexington.

-12th Mid-Year Graduation.

-12th Christmas Break after Graduation Ceremony.

For more information and a full Wentworth calendar, please visit www.wma.edu/calendar.

WMA HOSTS LARGEST RAIDER CHALLENGE

WMA HOSTS LARGEST RAIDER CHALLENGE

By Cadet Ali Al-Yahya

   The Wentworth JROTC Department recently hosted the largest Raider Meet ever held on the Wentworth campus. The Wentworth Raider team placed 10th overall in the challenge, and improved in Army Physical Fitness Test and the Road march. Ten schools participated in the meet and there were 18 Raider teams, with 183 participants, 15 instructors, and approximately 50 visitors.  The meet started at 5:30 AM and lasted 11 hours, finishing up at 4:30 PM.

     The teams competed in 7 events.  The events included the Army Physical Fitness Test, 10 Kilometer Foot March, One Rope Bridge, Gauntlet (Obstacle Course), Cross Country Litter Carry (Obstacle Course), The Dirty Name (Strength Course), Equalizer (Zodiac Boat Carry).

    “The Raider Meet was a total success because of the assistance of professional ROTC cadets as graders, very cooperative High School JROTC cadets, National Maintenance, Ameriserve for meals, and the Athletic Department, who went out of their way to help out.” commented Major Ed Fiora, Senior Army Instructor, WMA.

     Waynesville High School finished 1st overall, with Leavenworth High School and Junction City High School in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

JROTC Cadets from many schools in Missouri and Kansas compete in the Army Physical Fitness Test

Being able to move these huge tires is one component of the obstacle course.

               

Cadets squeeze under the ropes in the Gauntlet.

After you construct the one rope bridge, you are tested when you have to cross it!

  

 

AMANDA GOODMAN-PRUITT RETURNS TO WMA

    Amanda Goodman-Pruitt Returns to Wentworth

     There are many facets to the lead singer of Rugged Heart, but the name of her five-piece band pretty much sums her up.  Amanda Goodman-Pruitt, 31, has lived most of her life as a nomad, but now calls Emory home with her husband, Ken Pruitt, and three children, Kaylee, 6, Eugene, 9, and Taylor, 15.

Just three months following the death of her stepson, Wesley, 13, in March, the wife, mother and singer/songwriter is moving forward with her career and outlook on life.

“I know that my testimony will touch someone one day,” Goodman-Pruitt said. “I’ve been through so much, and it’s great not to sneak around to sing anymore.”

     Although she first took the stage dressed in a white fringe shirt, a blue jean skirt and bandana at the age of 4 in a Bossier City, Louisiana, bingo hall, her father was not a fan of her singing.  Her song of choice was “Have Mercy” by The Judds.  “My parents divorced when I was 5 years old, and I was never able to really be a child,” she said. “Especially since I lived with my dad and he worked 80 to 90 percent of the time.”  Now, the rising star tours with her Rugged Heart band and writes songs with country music legend Tony Stampley, of Nashville.  “I’ve been determined since the first day I began singing,” Goodman-Pruitt said. “My dad wasn’t supportive and wanted me to get a degree other than in music.”

     Goodman-Pruitt was born in Natchez, Mississippi, moved to Bossier City at 2 years old and was “shipped” by her father and stepmother to Wentworth Military Academy & College in Lexington, Missouri, at 17.  “It was a blessing in disguise to move there on my own,” Goodman-Pruitt said of military school. 

     Goodman-Pruitt graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Texas A&M University-Commerce and a minor in theater arts.

“She had more discipline than most of the students in the journalism program,” Texas A&M Commerce journalism instructor Fred Stewart said. “Even back then, she was very excited about her music and had big dreams and high hopes for it.”

     Her music entwines blues, jazz and country, layered with raspy vocals.  Her next performance is scheduled July 19 in Sulphur Springs.  This past week, she played at the Texas Country Music Hall Fame in Carthage.  She’s also working on an album to be released January.  Her “frans” — her slang for “fans and friends” — can expect an album exploring her feelings about her son’s death.

    

http://www.news-journal.com/features/entertainment/singer-mixes-music-life-experiences/article_30af8304-dfc6-5c34-bc99-3272d9f9b3b7.html

     Amanda Goodman-Pruitt sang for many of the school events while she was a cadet at Wentworth.  She graduated from Wentworth Military Academy High School in 2001 and returned for her freshman year of college at Wentworth Junior College. 

     In October, Amanda returned to the Wentworth Campus in Lexington for a visit.  She was the guest of COL Michael Lierman, President and Superintendent of Wentworth Military Academy and College.  “It was great to see Amanda and have her and her husband back on campus.  I am so proud of her and her many accomplishments since she left Wentworth.  She has made us all proud!” stated COL Lierman.

UNDER THE BIG TOP

Under the Big Top

By Cadet Taylor Jones

     On Thursday, October 23, the Kelly Miller Circus came to Lexington, MO and Wentworth cadets were given the opportunity to go.  The circus had a large assortment of animals and performances for the crowd. They had a large tent, the Big Top, to hold all of the performances and for all of the visitors to sit in. There were bleachers all around the inside of the tent, so there was plenty of room for everyone.   If you decided to pay extra, you could sit in a special section right in front of the event area, where all of the action happened. 

     Outside of the Big Top, there were food stands where you could get corn dogs, funnel cakes, shelled peanuts, and many more circus types of food. There were areas where you could ride an elephant or a camel, which many people chose to do. There was also a bizarre stand where they carried birds with two heads, cockroaches as big as your hand, a mouse with two tails and three feet, and many more strange things.

     The circus began with six lions sitting on pedestals.  As the show went on, the lions performed tricks and were very obedient to their trainer. Another act featured acrobats who climbed on ropes and twisted on thin sheets of material. The performers were very flexible and had incredible upper body strength.  One woman was able to hang from the top of the tent, hanging and swinging by her teeth. Other performances included a man who juggled multiple things, a man who stacked chairs and balanced them all the way up to the ceiling, a funny clown, and a dog disguised as the smallest elephant in the world. Another big act was the amazing animals that they had.  Alpacas, llamas, camels, and elephants all performed for the audience and did different things to show how talented they were due to the hard work of the trainers. Each act had a person to help guide the animals and help them perform in an exciting ways. 

The last act was a man who could “breathe fire!” He poured lighter fluid into his mouth, lit it on fire and spit it out. His tricks with fire were exquisite. He juggled with fire and had ropes of fire. Many different things were on fire and he was spinning them in the air.

     The circus is an amazing experience and I encourage you to go.  They have marvelous acts and performances for people of all ages to enjoy!

PTK HAUNTS NEIGHBORING TOWN

PTK HAUNTS NEIGHBORING TOWN

The Tau Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa reached out and helped a neighboring community raise money for new playground equipment. On October 24th and 25th, Wentworth students dressed up in their Halloween best to help the Waverly Friends of the Park host their Annual Haunted Hayride.

“I was really proud of the year’s volunteers. They really put a lot of time and energy into this project”, stated CPT Becky Young-Mueller, PTK Advisor. “Everyone got into their role and all of the staff members from Waverly raved about the Wentworth students and want them to come back in the years to come.”

                                                               

Creepy cadet Jade Dale-Perry is among the
walking dead.

Wentworth College student Sam Angle
tears up the campgrounds.

Cadets Jade Dale-Perry, Hailey Long, Justin Aldred,
Mendrix Punzalan, and Paul Marquez add terror to the
haunted hayride.