Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Michael Cassell

By: Matt Rothman

For the second year in a row, the top cadet in Broward County was awarded to a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school.

Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Michael Cassell was awarded the Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps Cadet of the Year at a ceremony on May 12. Selected as the top cadet from local high schools, he was evaluated on his academic performance, demonstrated leadership, community service and school involvement as well as participation in JROTC.

The partnership between the JROTC and the United States Department of Defense and Broward County Public Schools is in its 44th year and has involved more than 100,000 JROTC Cadets.

Runner-up includes: Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Sarris from West Broward High School, who was honored as well as five other distinguished cadets: Cadet Major Amanda Alvarez, South Broward High School; Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Levin, Pompano Beach High School – and Coral Springs resident; Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Haleema Irfan, Hollywood Hills High School Military Academy; Cadet Captain Theoni Chitty, Coral Glades High School; and Cadet Commander Slade Yester, Cooper City High School.

Also, six candidates from the Broward County Public Schools middle schools were honored for their achievements, and as part of the Pass in Review, Cadets and JROTC Programs all received awards for several categories.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas is a Broward County Public School serving students in both Coral Springs and Parkland.

Matt Rothman

Matt Rothman, is a senior Journalism major at Florida Gulf Coast University. Originally from Long Island, he moved to Parkland shortly after high school. Matt currently is the assistant sports editor for his school paper, eaglenews.com and covers men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, tennis, baseball, and softball. His goal is to travel to every Major League Baseball stadium, and has been to multiple US Open finals. He hopes to one day to be a beat writer for a professional team.