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MARQUETTE -- To serve and protect.  That's what ROTC officers aspire to do.  But to become an Army of one, they must first become a team.

Here in Marquette, ROTC cadets learn skills that shape our future United States soldiers.

"Our primary purpose is to develop leaders to become 2nd Lt. in the United States Army when they graduate," said 2nd Lt. Margaret Ziffer.

These soldiers in the making from NMU take their valuable lessons to the streets.  Most recently, they held a junior ROTC leadership day where dozens of high school students participated in various challenges.

"A lot of these students are coming to Northern, so we just want to make them aware of the different opportunities that they have," Ziffer said.

So what are those opportunities that come with serving your country?

"We're trying to emphasize leadership and confidence building skills for these students, communication, critical thinking...that's what a lot of these activities are about is just getting students to be involved and expose them to that," Ziffer said.

Blindfolded soccer and acting out emergency situations are just some of the challenges these high school students were given.

"After doing all of the events, it's taught me more about leadership.  You can't just win this game or do it alone; you have to put a lot of teamwork into it," said Patty Asavesna, a high school student.

It's a highly competitive application process, they say, but students who become officers also have financial aid and scholarship opportunities.