Meghna, Vergis

Grade: 10th

What team are you on in NJROTC? 

Female color gurd and mixed color guard unarmed and academics. We learn how  to match and look uniformed while drilling.

Why are you on this team? It’s fun, I also wanted to be a better at drilling because I think it’s a really cool skill, but it teaches you how to listen to commands.

What is a drill meet? It’s a competition that different units come together to compete in there drill. They each do the same drill card and the judges see whos the best.

How did you feel about going to your first drill meet? I was really nervous at the beginning because I thought it was going to be this terrifying things were people just yells at you and screams. It was a lot less scary than I thought it would when I started to compete.

What were some challenges you had to overcome before going to the drill meet and why? One of them was my nerves and just not getting in my own head. There were a lot of moments where I thought I was going to cry, but after awhile my nerves settled down. It got better for me.

What were the hardest movements you had to do during drill and why? Definitely the close marches were very difficult because  that was a thing we had been struggling a lot with. None of us knew what we were doing when that command was being called during drill practices. 

How did you feel after the drill meet was over? I felt kind of relieved but also sad that the meet was over because I did like competing and being one whole unit together. Also, I was really tired.

Was it different drilling in front of instructors rather than in front of other students? I think when  we were drilling in front of students, we didn’t really pay attention to the little things we messed up or that were off. But when I saw the drill instructors I constantly keep seeing them look down at their phones and typing in scores. I was just scared and kept thinking in my head what did I do wrong. 

Why did you decide to go to this drill meet? I’m on a lot of teams so if I left, some of those teams wouldn’t be a team. That wouldn’t be good, but I thought it would be fun going to my first drill meet. I have never been so it was really fun and cool. 

What was your favorite part during the drill meet and why was it your favorite part? My favorite part was female color guard because I practice a lot, and I was with people that are very experienced and nothing horrible happened. It just all felt like how it was supposed to feel. 

Since you went to your first drill meet, will you be going to more? Definitely because I want more experienced, and it’s really cool when you have all the teams drilling. Also seeing all the different schools come together.