Abby Smith, a sophomore from Beechwood High School in Fort Mitchell, was honored as a top 10 member in this year’s Young Marines Leadership Academy in San Pedro, California.
The Young Marines are a national youth organization of boys and girls from ages 8 through high school graduation.
The Young Marines National Leadership Academy takes place every year and sees members from all over the country gather to improve “leadership, mentorship and management skills while competing in physical challenges and being evaluated on their knowledge, skills and abilities,” according to a recent press release from the organization. “The 10 best candidates were selected as the prestigious Top Ten Graduates of the Advanced Leadership School.”
“[The leadership school] was a life changing experience. I learned so much about the Young Marines program and leadership,” Smith said in the same release. “The most beneficial part of [the school] was learning about how to shape the Young Marines in my unit into better leaders. I love all the opportunities this school gave me and the people I met are going to be my friends for a lifetime.”
Smith said she hopes to attend the United States Naval Academy and join the United States Navy upon graduating high school. She plans to study mechanical engineering and serve as a surface warfare officer.
