Every high school seems to have one kid who everyone knows: the student admired by peers and respected by teachers.
At Northeast High School in Oakland Park, it’s Talon Frazier. He does the morning announcements with an anchorman's voice, and he’s in seven clubs and programs, so there isn’t much that Talon doesn’t do.
“I’m currently ascending in a Cessna 172,” Talon says as he practices in one of his school’s flight simulators.
Only a junior, he’s earning his pilot’s certification this summer, he’s in the top 1% of his class academically, and Talon will lead his school’s Air Force JROTC corps next year.
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“Yeah, yeah, sky’s the limit!” Talon said with a laugh.
“He’s a role model for kids older than him, he’s a role model, definitely, for the kids younger than his peers, he sets an example for everyone around him,” said Lt. Colonel Kevin White, the JROTC chief instructor.
So what drives him to succeed?
“It’s really great to inspire people like I’ve been inspired by my fellow ROTC leaders in the past, and I really want to uplift the kids as they go on further in high school,” Talon explained, saying it’s his way of paying it forward.
So maybe it’s inevitable that a kid named Talon would want to one day, fly like a bird, but to his friends, he’s nothing but grounded.
“He’s a great student, great cadet, and most importantly, a great friend,” said Cody Demayo, a senior and the current JROTC corps commander.
“He is a role model, he’s a role model around the whole school, he does a lot of activities where everybody says, I want to be just like him,” said classmate Sheyla Torres.
I asked Talon what it’s like to hear his friends compliment him like that.
“I’m glad that I inspire people and demonstrated leadership and learned from my friends and hopefully, they learned from me as well,” he replied.
Talon knows he’s leading by example, his way of advising his younger peers to get involved.
“There’s not a lot of time you have to be a kid, to be in high school, so why waste it sitting at home?” he said. “It’s better to try than to just let the opportunity go to waste.”
This young man is not wasting any opportunities.
“I want to leave a lasting legacy, I don’t want to be just another name in a yearbook,” Talon said.
