NAVARRE— When Jinah Burman stepped into Navarre High School four years ago she wasn’t happy.
Her parents had urged her to enroll in the school’s Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps and it was the last classroom she wanted to be in at the school.
“I really hated it and I didn’t want to do it,” the now 18-year-old said. “I walked in the first day and I didn’t say anything at all.”
She worried what other students would think when she walked around school in the uniform, and she dreaded coming into school two hours early to meet program requirements.
JROTC also was physically demanding, although she didn’t struggle too much with that thanks to a black belt in taekwondo.
“She was so quiet-like that you didn’t even know she was in the classroom,” said Jimmy Ethridge, the retired Master Chief who oversees Navarre’s JROTC program.
Her attitude towards the program continued all the way through the first semester until she got some surprising advice.
“Some of my friends were like, ‘You know, this isn’t going to get any better if you don’t give this a chance,’ ” Jinah said.
She took their words to heart, and it wasn’t long before she saw her parents had been right. The program was full of opportunities.
In a matter of months she went from being unnoticed to being the top of the class and accepted leadership role after leadership role.
“She was my go-to girl,” Ethridge said. “She got things done.”
In the years since she started the program, Jinah has come a long way personally as well. She will be graduating as the senior class student body president, has accumulated more than 700 hours of community service and helped lead the JROTC to a regional title this year.
Each title is earned not just for the quality of the group’s drill team but other factors including community service, GPAs and scholarships earned by the team as a whole.
This year’s win comes after outgoing seniors last year told Jinah and her classmates they doubted the team would perform well when they left. Instead of buckling under the pressure, the small group of seniors pulled together and set an example for the younger students to follow.
The sense of confidence that led Jinah and the other seniors to succeed in spite of their odds is one of the top reasons she’s glad she joined the program.
“If I didn’t do this, I definitely don’t think I’d be as confident in myself,” she said with a smile. “I’d still care what others think.”
In addition to JROTC, Jinah took a number of Advanced Placement courses and maintained a high GPA.
She plans to attend the University of West Florida for two years to save money and then transfer to the University of Florida to complete her nursing degree.
From there, she’s open to what comes next.
She could be happy marrying and settling down. Or moving to a city to pursue her career. A master’s degree might come a little later.
In JROTC, she’s learned to think on her feet and says that will come in handy in case the dice don’t fall the way she plans.
“I’m trying to be open-minded,” Jinah said. “You’ve always got to have a plan B.
“... (JRTOC) wasn’t exactly what I wanted ... but you’ve got to see the big picture.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.