Editor’s note: Richmond Hill High School senior Jeffrey Burton is interning with the Bryan County News as part of the school’s work-based learning program. His first assignment? To introduce himself to readers.

Read on. And remember when you see JJ on network TV news down the road, you met him here first.

Hello, I’m Jeffrey Burton but my friends call me JJ. I’m 17 years old and I was born in Bloomington, Illinois to a military family. I have been a resident of Richmond Hill for about 4 years and I am a senior at Richmond Hill High School.

I am a cadet in the JROTC program, I’ve been involved for over three years now and I’m on the color guard team.

The program helped me to strengthen my leadership skills, to work as a team, and it allowed me to help my community. Being on the color guard team, I’ve been able to present the colors at local football games and in veteran programs.

I’m currently taking college classes at Georgia Southern. Over the summer I took English 101 as my first college class and I will be taking Journalism 1 later this year. Speaking of Georgia Southern, I will be attending classes there after my High school graduation with the goal of getting a degree in Broadcast Journalism. I also have an interest in music, I love to play drums, sing in the choir at my local church, and listen to alternative music.

On the weekends I like to surf on Tybee Island. I may not be good at surfing, but I’m still learning the sport.

I’ve always been interested in journalism since a young age. When I was younger, I used to watch the evening news with my grandpa. I’ve still been a fan of the evening news, I like to learn more about big events from around the world. From there I’ve been trying to find ways to get into the journalism field. Most opportunities are college-level but with the help of Work Based Learning, I’ve been granted a job at Bryan County News as an intern. I’m very excited to learn more about the field and to help the Bryan County community.