April 21, 2015 -- With parade season drawing near, Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.’s crowd educator program sparked up again. In motivated Alpha Company, two devil dogs have devoted their time to speak with the parade crowds about their experiences at the Corps’ Oldest Post and the rich history of the Marine Corps within the Nation’s Capital.
Crowd educators are Marines from across the installation who volunteer to speak with Friday Evening Parade guests before the parade.
Lance Cpl. Alex Jarbo from Second Platoon “Earthpigs”, Alpha Co. said the main reason he wanted to become a crowd educator was because he is very uncomfortable in front of large groups of people.
“I really wanted to do this program to learn how to open my voice in front of a large crowd of people in order to improve my leadership,” said Jarbo. “It feels good to represent Alpha Company and to have the crowd cheer for us during pass in review.”
This junior enlisted warrior is excited about meeting new people from across the country, as well as from his home state of Michigan.
“I just want to throw up “the mitt” and see how many I get thrown back,” said Jarbo. The mitt is in reference to a popular salutation residents of Michigan exchange with each other.
Lance Cpl. Noel Mayorqa of First Platoon “Ready First”, Alpha Company volunteered for the crowd education program so he could feel a greater connection with the crowd.
Mayorqa said that after serving at the Barracks for a few months he now has a greater idea of the Barracks’ mission. He understands what this job entails and the history of the Marines who marched before him.
Mayorqa wants to make a difference in his platoon and share the knowledge he has learned from the crowd education program with his peers and leadership.
Most importantly, Mayorqa wants to give the barracks and Alpha Company a good reputation.
“It’s all about the image of the Marine Corps,” said Mayorqa.
Mayorqa is looking forward to interacting with the crowd because he's never done anything like crowd education before and he believes that he will grow and benefit from the crowd educator experience.