On Monday, Plant City High School held its second annual Military Signing Day. Similar to college athletics signing days, teachers, families, and students gathered to mark student commitments.
“I think it is a great choice for them, even if they are not sure what they want to do with their life, or what path it is going to take them on after that,” Joe Cieslo, PCHS Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) Senior Army Instructor, said during the ceremony. “You do one enlistment for three years, or you do two enlistments, or you spend a lifetime in—the benefits will come back to you immensely.”
At Plant City High School, several of these students took part in JROTC to better prepare themselves for military service. Upon graduation, these students, and the others who signed, will leave Plant City far behind them to step into training for their roles in four of the branches of the military in places like Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois, and Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island in South Carolina.
Andre Butler
Marines
Josue Cruz
Marines
Julian Andrews, Jr
Navy
Brooke Wooten
Navy
Nathan Keiser
Air Force
Jeremy Wilder
Army
Connor McQuaig
Army
Carla Echeverria
Marines
Antroya White
Army
Jonathan Meijia
Marines
Janiya Sherman
Air Force
Clenisha Overton
Air Force
Shaniya Scott
Navy
Timothy Whidden
Marines
Deyli Torres-Gregorio
Marines
“I picked the U.S. Marine Corps because I needed a way to get out, and I figured I wanted to have that pride of being a U.S. Marine,” Josue Cruz said. “As well as getting experience that not many do. I also read that when you go to get a job, they put you at the top of the list because you are a veteran.”
“This is something I have wanted to do since I was little,” Brooke Wooten said. “I have previous family who served, so I wanted to go behind them.”
The recruits intended Military Occupational Specialties range from dental hygienist to air crew, to Basic Underwater Demolition/Seal (BUD/S), to military police, to human resources, to food services, to combat engineering, to nursing, to aviation.
“I am very proud to know that you are going to go on and represent PCHS,’ Principal Traci Durrance said to these students. “Your time here, hopefully, has prepared you for the next chapter in your lives. I know you are going to serve your country well, and make your families proud, and make your friends proud.”
The inspiration behind this signing day is Tricia Shinneman, a former Parent Teacher Association Board member and mother of two PCHS graduates.
“From a young age, our son, Zachary, was fascinated by space,” she recounted. “As he grew, his curiosity expanded to include computers. By the age of 10, he had built his own computer and taught himself the inner workings of the system. While he tried several sports and was naturally good at golf, his heart was always drawn to technology and gaming.” In 2015, the “Plant City Observer” published a story on Zachary’s selection as a finalist in a University of South Florida Young Innovator competition of inventions.
Zachary was an honor student, but never really liked school. When he was a junior, looking at his future, he knew a college path to a career wasn’t the right fit for him. He checked into computer science programs at trade schools, but they were expensive, and he didn’t want to take on student debt. “He knew he wanted to work in cyber, but he needed a path,” Tricia said.
Then Zachary looked into the military. The Air Force offered jobs in cyber that resonated with him, so he enlisted in the Air Force when he graduated from PCHS in 2022, and was later selected to apply for the U.S. Space Force. A selection board reviewed his application and chose him as “highly accepted.” The Space Force offered him a position as a cyber systems operator.
“Watching Zachary light up with a clear direction and a purpose bigger than himself made me realize something important,” Tricia said. “We celebrate our student-athletes on signing day, and rightly so—but what about those who choose to serve our country? These students are also stepping into a life of discipline, sacrifice, and incredible responsibility. They are leaving home, often for the first time, and entering basic training with the possibility of being stationed anywhere in the world.”
Zachary’s sister Chloe is on the University of Florida All-Girl Cheerleading team and is a Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering major.
“As a mom of both a service member and a college athlete, I see the value in both journeys,” Tricia said. “But I believe our military-bound students deserve to feel that same sense of pride and support from their community on a day that recognizes their commitment. That’s why I started Military Signing Day at PCHS—to honor and uplift these students and their families. I’m incredibly grateful to Traci Durrance, Randy Humphrey, and Joseph Cieslo for embracing this idea and helping bring it to life. Their support made it possible for PCHS to become, what I believe is, the first school in Hillsborough County to host an event like this. I’m thankful for their leadership and commitment, and I hope this tradition continues to grow each year.”
Tricia also hopes Military Signing Days will spread to other high schools in the Hillsborough County Public Schools.