Seaman Recruit Jesse RussoWilson, Division 425, graduated as the top Sailor from Recruit Training Command earning the Military Excellence Award Oct. 26.

RussoWilson, from Hawthorne, New Jersey, said he joined the Navy for the numerous opportunities it offers.

“I joined the Navy to travel the world, to be part of something greater than myself, and to make myself the best possible person I can be,” he said. “I’ve always been very proud of my country and the values we stand for — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

RussoWilson, 18, is a 2018 graduate of Hawthorne High School, in Hawthorne, New Jersey. He was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. RussoWilson was a certified emergency medical technician with the Hawthorne Volunteer Ambulance Corps and said he has trained in mixed martial arts since he was 4 years old. RussoWilson is assigned the rate of Hospital Corpsman.

The Navy Club of the United States Military Excellence Award (MEA) is the top award presented to the No. 1 recruit of their graduating training group. The MEA is awarded to the recruit that best exemplifies the qualities of enthusiasm, devotion to duty, military bearing and teamwork. The award placed him at the pinnacle of today’s newest Sailors. RussoWilson is awarded a flag letter of commendation. He said he exceeded his expectations in winning the MEA.

“Winning the MEA, to me, means going above and beyond how I thought I would do in boot camp,” he said. “I came here expecting to just float by and now I’m top of my training group just by doing what was expected of me.”

RussoWilson credited his Recruit Division Commanders (RDCs), Chief Boatswain’s Mate Kehinde Are, Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Justin Miller and Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Glenn Ro for their leadership and guidance.

“I definitely have to thank my three RDCs for constantly pushing my division and myself to aim for perfection and to never fall short of it,” he said. “Also, thanks to my shipmates for helping me whenever I did not 100 percent understand how to do something.”

He also said his biggest boot camp challenge was becoming more detail-oriented.

“For me, it was having to constantly be neat and everything being folded and stowed perfectly,” he said. “My shipmates would teach me better techniques so my rack would always look perfect.”

After graduation, Russo Wilson will attend Hospital Corpsman “A” School in Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, where he will learn basic principles and techniques of patient care and first-aid procedures.

Boot camp is approximately eight weeks and all enlistees into the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. Training includes physical fitness, seamanship, firearms, firefighting and shipboard damage control along with lessons in Navy heritage and core values, teamwork and discipline. More than 30,0000 recruits graduate annually from RTC and begin their Navy careers.

For more news from Recruit Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/.

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For more news from Recruit Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/.