VASJ senior John Henry Posey selected to attend Junior Cadet Week

When VASJ senior John Henry Posey attended Buckeye Boys State at Bowling Green State University this summer (read more here), he was not expecting it to lead to yet another great summer opportunity.

John Henry was one of 18 students at Boys State to be selected to attend Junior Cadet Week at the Ohio State Highway Patrol Training Academy in Columbus, Ohio -- the same place the Ohio State troopers are trained.

“I can honestly say this was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” John Henry says. “I was treated like an actual cadet of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.”

Junior Cadet Week is a one-time opportunity available only to Buckeye Boys State and Buckeye Girls State attendees and gives the students some of the same training an Ohio State Trooper receives.

The week-long program included daily physical training, military drill, firearms training, officer-violater contacts, self-defense tactics, canine and criminal patrol operations and crash investigation.

“I learned everything from traffic stops to drug detection and more,” John Henry says. “I was able to meet the superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Colonel Paul Pride. This was truly an honor.”

VASJ senior John Henry Posey, pictured with Col. Paul Pride, was selected to attend Junior Cadet Week with the Ohio State Highway Patrol. 

It was also an honor when John Henry was elected by his peers to be the class speaker at the week’s closing ceremony.

Prior to attending Junior Cadet Week, John Henry already had an interest in pursuing a law enforcement career. He was anxious to learn more about the field.

“The ability to talk to different troopers every day and hear of their experiences was amazing,” John Henry says.

The Junior Cadet Week provided the perfect opportunity for John Henry to determine that a career in law enforcement is exactly where he sees himself down the road.

“I am happy to say that while there I reached a point where I was able to tell myself that this is the life I am called to love: A life of service to others who are in some cases at the lowest points in their lives.”