By Sgt Ryan Sammet
Mrs. Caroline Lewis, left, a teacher at Westmoreland high school, and U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Choy, a drill instructor at MCRD PI. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Ryan Sammet)
Attending the Workshop
Mrs. Caroline Lewis, a teacher at Westmoreland high school with a proud African-American military background and patriotic heart, shared her experiences when she attended the 2023 Educators Workshop aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, Feb. 21-24, 2023.
“When I think of the military, all I think of is marching and following orders,” Lewis said. “You never think of the personal part of it and taking care of each other and motivating each other.”
Montfort Point Marines
The niece of one of the first Montfort point Marines to graduate Marine Corps recruit training, Lewis distinctly remembers her uncle Lawrence Reginald Reggie Lucas, being awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President Obama in June of 2012. Lewis appreciated the chance to get to see how the Marine Corps makes young men and women into Marines.
The Educator’s Workshop
Through the workshop, Lewis was able to see and experience many aspects of Marine Corps recruit training, from stepping on the yellow footprints to watching Marines walk across the parade deck for the last time as Marines at graduation.
The Educators Workshop was a great learning experience for Lewis, and she said she wishes to take some of what she learned to better her community and to advocate for military service.
“I am already thinking of how to implement that for my school next year,” said Lewis. “I want to be able to better show my students what the military has to offer because some of them have no idea what the military can do to better their lives.”
Mrs. Lewis believes she will be a great ambassador for the Marine Corps for years to come because she is now experienced and educated about the Marine Corps and can help communicate better with her students who may still be too afraid to talk to a Marine Corps recruiter.
“Me being an educator I love what I do,” said Lewis. “I can’t wait to share what I have learned with my kids. And see them in maybe five or six years come back to the community as Marines.”
