An 21-year-old Orangeburg man has gained the top student body leadership position at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as brigade commander, The Times and Democrat reported.
Jackie Booker Jr. was recently appointed to the seat and is set to graduate from the academy in May.
According to The Times and Democrat, Booker is the leader of the academy’s Brigade of Midshipmen, a group of roughly elite, first-class midshipmen consisting of five companies that are broken down into six battalion companies.
“When I nominated Orangeburg’s Jackie Booker Jr. to the U.S. Naval Academy in 2018, I knew he’d make our community proud. Sending a big congrats as he assumes the role of Brigade Commander—the highest position of leadership in the Brigade of Midshipmen,” U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC) tweeted Oct. 15.
Booker told The Times and Democrat that he won’t let the title go to his head and that he plans to implement a philosophy of servant leadership to help enrich the lives of others.
Booker is the son of Jackie Booker Sr. and Kathy Booker of Orangeburg, The Times and Democrat reported, and that “he has always had a drive to excel.”
The Times and Democrat reported that Booker’s journey has taken him through Marshall Elementary School, William J. Clark Middle School, and the High School for Health Professions in Orangeburg, along with the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics in Hartsville, South Carolina, before his appointment to the Naval Academy in 2018.
