Every year, Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) units from around the country compete in a national brain brawl competition. In order to get to the national level, teams must perform well in area level competitions.
On Jan. 27, the Naval ROTC unit at NC State had the honor of hosting one of these area level competitions.
Brain brawls are a jeopardy-like competition where contestants buzz in to answer various questions about naval science, pop culture and many other topics. Each team consists of four Navy JROTC cadets, from NS1s (high school freshman) to NS4s (seniors). For the Area Six competition, consisting of schools in North and South Carolina, there were two main rounds of competition.
For the first half of the day, each team attempted to earn as many points as possible so that they could compete in the tournament style competition at the end of the day. Each question that a cadet answered correctly gave their team a chance to answer a bonus question, giving them an opportunity for more points and a better chance to play in the tournament.
Ultimately, Pamlico County High School (Bayboro, NC) and Myrtle Beach High School (Myrtle Beach, SC) qualified to advance to the national competition at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, Florida in April.
As the Naval ROTC Unit at North Carolina State hosted this event, the midshipmen of the Wolfpack Battalion had the opportunity to volunteer to run the competition earning over seventy hours of community service. Midshipmen served in roles throughout the day including round moderators, score runners, and bonus question readers.
They also had the opportunity to talk to students about being an ROTC student.
“It was fulfilling to engage with students who might be interested in pursuing a military career, and it was good to be able to answer any questions that they have about the military or college!” said MIDN 2/C Clinedinst.
This was a great opportunity for high school students from the Carolinas to spend some time at our great university and see their hard work and studying pay off. It was also a great opportunity for our midshipmen to interact with students who may be interested in joining the military, pursuing a higher education, or both just like ROTC!
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