Eliza Moore Named Region NJROTC CO Of the Year

By NAS Sigonella Public Affairs

In another history-making turn for the Sigonella High School (SHS) Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (NJROTC) program, senior Eliza Moore was named Commanding Officer of the Year for the Italy, Spain, and the Northeastern United States region.

Earlier this year, Moore led the Sigonella NJROTC team that competed in and won the 2021 National Academic Championship for the first time in the school’s history.

“This young lady is just plain incredible!” said Senior Chief Victor Martinez, Naval Science teacher at SHS. “There is simply no task you can assign her that she can’t get done and get done to a new standard.”

Moore moved to Sigonella the summer before her first year in high school, and she quickly began excelling both academically and in her extracurricular activities, including the NJROTC program.

“I actually hadn’t heard too much about it before my freshman year, but my dad had done ROTC in college and he loved it, and he thought I’d really enjoy it, so I figured I’d give it a shot,” said Moore. “I didn’t know if I would keep doing it after my first year, but I really learned to love it.”

“I like the structure behind ROTC,” she continued. “I like the ability to move through the ranks and get promoted and earn ribbons. I love the camaraderie; I met a lot of my closest friends through ROTC.”

As the CO of the SHS NJROTC program, Moore not only led the team to the academic championship and through an impressive Annual Military Inspection, but also guided the program through a period of upheaval.

According to the award citation, “Eliza Moore ensured that the daily routine and training of the Navy JROTC unit were running at full speed ahead during the unannounced retirement and absence of the Senior Naval Science Instructor and the transition period of the acting Senior Naval Science Instructor.”

In addition to being a leader in NJROTC, Moore spent her time at SHS joining the National Honors Society, the Italian Club, and Model United Nations, and the Keystone Club. She served as the student body’s vice president and the president of the Student to Student program, received the Principal’s Award for Academic Excellence, earned the Coach’s Most Improved Player Awards in volleyball, soccer, and wrestling, and won first place at the National Junior Science and Humanity Symposium.

As one might expect, Moore has honed her leadership skills through both NJROTC and her other activities.

“For me, being a good leader means being a good listener,” said Moore. “One of the biggest things I do as a leader in any of the organizations I’m a part of is just always ask for constant critiques or criticism or areas for improvement. I find the more I listen to what those I’m leading want and the more I listen to their ideas, the more successful we usually are.”

In addition to her many extracurricular activities, Moore maintained an excellent academic record; she was the salutatorian of the SHS class of 2021.

Reflecting on the difficulties of the past fifteen months, Moore said, “This year was definitely challenging; it required a lot of thinking outside of the box. Being able to lean on each other and support one another was a vital part of this year. It was the only thing that kind of made all the changes and ups and downs bearable.”

In June, Moore’s father retired after 24 years in the Air Force just two days before her graduation. Though she attended as a family member, the NJROTC cadets she commanded were a part of his retirement ceremony.

“It was a touching moment,” Moore said. “It’s the end of an era for our family.”

This fall, Moore will be attending Duke University on a full scholarship, and many of her SHS teachers believe she will continue to make history.