With the move to the Manual campus, dozens of Christel House Indianapolis students have enrolled in the JROTC program (Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps), an elective school course with a mission of building better citizens for America. JROTC teaches cadets leadership, geography, civics, health, global awareness, life skills, and U.S. History. Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth J. Duxbury, Senior Army Instructor (SAI), served 26 years of active duty in the Army. He’s been the JROTC instructor at Manual for 13 years. He describes the JROTC program as an instructor-guided, cadet-led, interactive hands-on course. “It’s about building the confidence of the kids,” he says. “We want them to have a plan.” The Manual JROTC has been recognized as an Honor Unit with Distinction, the service’s highest honor. Duxbury notes there are students each year that explore military careers after graduation. “I think we will be more successful with Christel House because there is a greater emphasis on academics and a greater emphasis with family participation – it’s more of a community,” he says. He’s proud of the impact of the JROTC program. “I love what I do,” Duxbury says. “If we can change a couple of kids’ lives every year, which we do, then that’s a huge success.”