Lanier High JROTC Cadet/Colonel Myuna McNair (center) accepts the Legion of Valor Bronze Cross Award. With her are Brigadier General (Ret.) Margarett Barnes (left) and JPS JROTC Director Colonel (Ret.) Paul Willis.

Army JROTC Cadet/Colonel Myuna McNair of Lanier High School received the Legion of Valor Bronze Cross Award on November 6, 2014, at Lanier High School from the Legion of Valor of the United States of America, Inc. This is the highest award a JROTC cadet can earn and is presented annually to the top JROTC cadets across the nation who excel in academics, leadership and community service.

Cadet/Colonel McNair serves as the Cadet Brigade Commander for the seven Army JROTC units within the Jackson Public School District. Academically, she is ranked first out of 188 students in her senior class where she carries a 4.05 grade point average. This past summer, she attended Jackson State University's Interdisciplinary Center for Nanotoxicity. Last year, McNair became the first high school junior to earn the Cadet of the Year award for the Jackson Public School District.

Cadet/Colonel McNair is captain of the Lanier High School Army JROTC Academic Team and the captain of her unit's Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) competition team. During this past year, McNair performed over 90 hours of community service benefiting such organizations as the American Legion, the Sonny Montgomery Veteran's Administration Hospital, and local elementary schools.

McNair will graduate from Lanier High School in spring 2015. She plans to study pharmacy in college.