United States Naval Academy - Part 3

As I mentioned yesterday, attending the Naval Academy is a huge opportunity, but it comes with great responsibility.

It is incredibly competitive to be accepted to the USNA, but it is not impossible.  For example, last year there were 17,000 applications initiated, but only 3300 of them ended up fulfilling all the steps (including receiving a nomination) and then of that number just 1,350 students were offered an appointment (the chance to attend).  They consider applicants holistically.  In applicants, they are seeking those with excellent moral character who are mentally and physically fit, are interested in becoming a Professional Officer in the Naval Service and who demonstrate the potential for leadership.  Essentially, they are looking for students who excel in the classroom, are leaders, are driven and competitive, are involved, and who have a desire to serve.  Students interested in applying should start the process during their junior year so that you can complete the process as early as possible during your senior year.  Applications are looked at every week on a rolling basis.  Prep School is an option that some students will be offered for a year prior to being accepted to the USNA.  The Naval Academy Prep School (also known as NAPS) is in Rhode Island.

Nominations are a unique aspect of the admissions process to the USNA.  In addition to submitting the actual application to the Naval Academy, students must simultaneously apply to senators and congressmen for a nomination.  This process typically includes an application and an interview to have the chance to be nominated.  All students who attend the Naval Academy MUST receive a nomination.

There are opportunities for high school students to check out the USNA to see if it would be a potential fit.  Summer Seminar is for students in the summer between their junior and senior years.  It is a competitive process that opens for application in January of the junior year.  It will give attendees a chance to spend a week living the life of a typical Midshipman.  For younger students, there are other summer experiences including participating in USNA sports camps or STEM academic camps.

The Midshipmen are from all 50 states and so it can be a challenge to be in such a demanding circumstance while being so far away from home.  As a result, one cool thing that the Naval Academy does to help the students is that they have Host Families that “adopt” the Midshipmen.  These families are from the greater Annapolis area and they provide a place of normalcy and comfort for the students on the limited times when they are able to leave the campus.  Additionally, another unique aspect of the Naval Academy in comparison to the other academies is the fact that there is a town just outside of the gates of the campus. 

Athletics is an essential component of life for all Midshipmen.  All of the students are expected to participate in sports in some capacity.  The Naval Academy is an NCAA Division 1 school featuring 32 varisty sports – 18 men’s, 11 women’s and 3 co-ed.  They also have 16 club sports and 10 intramural sports.  In addition to participating in sports, the students are all still required to take PE classes each year.  (So, unlike in high school where you might be able to be exempted from PE if you are an athlete, they do not allow that at the Naval Academy.)  27% of the men and 35% of the women who attend the USNA are varsity athletes competing in Division 1 sports.

I really enjoyed learning about how they approach teaching leadership and character development.  In part, all athletics, activities and classes help toward this, but there are also specific classes focused on teaching leadership and character.  For example, we learned that they typically think of the first 2 years as being when they teach students immediate obedience and then the next two years are spent teaching the students to think and make decisions on their own.  The ultimate goal is for the students to be servant leaders and they have classes and a capstone project that students complete to help develop their leadership.  The honor code is also very important at the USNA, but if students struggle they are focused on remediation rather than just kicking the students out.  While the Midshipmen have barely any free time (at all) in their week, I was also impressed by the fact that many of the students are still committed to clubs and community service opportunities which is a reflection of their character.

In addition to talking with Hannah and Micah, I had the chance to meet several other Midshipmen during the week. 

Julia is a freshman who showed me the sample dorm room.  Bancroft Hall is the largest dorm on any college campus – in fact all 4400 students at the USNA all live in that 1 dorm.  It is gigantic!  We didn’t get to see any of the actual student dorm rooms, but they did allow us to see this mock-up sample dorm room.  It was interesting that all student rooms and closets must be EXACTLY like this!  No papers, pencils, or other materials are allowed to be left out on the desk at ANY point in time.  And, in their closet, clothes must be together and go from light to dark.  Additionally, socks must be folded in a very particular manner so that they were “smiling.”  It was explained to us that this is all because of the importance of attention to details.  

At dinner I was able to pepper one of the juniors, Jackie (pictured here on left with her friend and fellow Midshipman Miriam) with tons of questions.  She was amazing and I really enjoyed being able to talk 

with her as well as all of the other students that I met randomly throughout the week.  Whether it was talking to someone like Jackie at length or the students we were able to meet in the engineering labs, everyone was polite, respectful, kind and ready to answer any questions and I appreciated it very much not only for what they shared, but also for the hope that they gave me for the future because they are outstanding (like all of you) and they are dedicating their lives to service which strikes me as amazing!

When we had the opportunity to ask a panel of students what they would recommend for high schoolers to do if they are interested in attending the Naval Academy the number one answer that we heard and was reiterated by all of the students (and applies not only for attending an Academy) is that students should not be afraid of working hard and going after anything you want.  They encouraged students to picture where they want to be in the future and work for that rather than just working for tomorrow.  I loved that sentiment!  Remember, what you are learning and doing is not just to check off a box or to earn a grade in your class – it is to help develop yourself, push your own development and excel in every area because it is for your own good and not because of some outside goal or objective.

The chapel is a central point on the college campus.  There is a ship that hangs from the top of the back of the church – it looks small from the ground, but is actually quite large.  An interesting feature of the chapel is that there is a pew completely blocked off that features a candle which is lit in memory of POW’s and those missing in action.  Beneath the chapel is a crypt of John Paul Jones.

There were other neat traditions that we heard about/ saw… The noon formation prior to lunch was very impressive.  The statue of Tecumseh was typically covered by a tarp, but the bottom portion is painted at particular times in honor of major events on campus – in this case for the Marine Corps birthday and the Navy vs. Tulsa football game.  And we learned that this statue is used as a ritual to mark the end of the freshman (plebe) year when the freshmen students must try to work together to get the Naval hat perched at the top… and, to make it more difficult the seniors coat the entire statue with a great deal of oil, lard, and other slippery material.  Plus, the views out the windows were amazing... like this classroom ship that the Midshipmen learn on.

And yesterday, I neglected to include pictures of the concrete canoe or the human-powered submarine... how amazing?!?

It was a great trip and I learned so much.  I wish time and space would allow me to share more, but the reality is that nothing I write here can fully capture the experience of being there.  So, if attending the United States Naval Academy is at all of interest to you, I hope you will stop to see me so we can discuss it more in depth!

United States Naval Academy - Part 2

As you know, last week I was out of town for a visit to the United States Naval Academy (USNA).  Do you know what the Naval Academy is?  Is it a college?  Yes.  Is it the military?  Yes.  It is both, but, quite honestly, it is more than just the sum of it’s parts!

I was so impressed by the Naval Academy and all of the students (referred to as Midshipmen) who are attending school there.  Of course, the two that I was happiest to see were Kilbourne graduates, Hannah Vincent who is a senior at the Naval Academy and Micah Vincent who is a freshman at the Naval Academy. 

I was able to join Hannah and Micah for lunch in Kings Hall –  their single dining hall and it is unbelievable to see how quickly they are able to feed all 4400 Midshipmen at once and get them moving on their way.  I wish I had grabbed a better picture than this, but the tables and people were packed into the dining hall in every direction imaginable – it was unreal.  Believe me... this picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice!

Without a doubt attending the USNA is a major commitment!  Students carry 18 to 20 hours each semester and they are pushed physically, mentally and morally so that they will excel as leaders today and in the future to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

While at the USNA we received presentations from impressive leaders who oversee the school.  I am going to try to focus on some of the highlights from the presentations, but if you are interested in learning more about the Naval Academy, I hope you will please stop to see me so that we can talk more in depth about the details involved.

Attending the Naval Academy means that students complete their 4 years of college and earn their bachelor’s degrees free of charge.  (Well, free in that they don’t have to pay to attend school, but there is a service requirement after graduation.)  Additionally, 100% of the students are assured of a job following their graduation – something that other colleges certainly can’t claim.  The national average of students entering a college and then graduating from that college 4 years later is just 29%.  At the USNA the 4 year graduation rate is 89%.  This is obviously very impressive!  Of those who don’t graduate, only 2% were due to academic reasons.  The rest of the reasons were medical, personal such as deciding that they don’t want to be in the Navy or have other family reasons that they need to leave or because of conduct/ honor issues in which case the USNA may have asked them to leave.

The core curriculum that all students must take includes 140 hours.  Examples of classes that are included in the core curriculum are: Math, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Cyber, English, History, Government, Leadership, Ethics, Law, Seamanship/ Navigation, and PE.  (In case you were curious, this is more than what most students at other colleges are required to complete.)  Then, on top of that, the students must pick a major which can be from the 25 various major choices – most of which are STEM in nature, but there are 5 majors in the humanities.  What they do not have are majors related to healthcare and so attending the USNA would not be a good fit if this is your future plan.

 

Most of the majors at the USNA are STEM related.  Cyber warfare is a new area of emphasis that they are focusing on as well.  68% of their graduates are from STEM majors.  The other 32% of graduates majored in Liberal Arts fields.  We had a chance to see some of the Engineering facilities where they are very focused on project based learning.  They have students who participated in unique events such as building and competing with a concrete canoe (yes, it really was made of concrete and it actually floated with 4 students in it), building an autonomous sailboat, designing a Formula 1 racing car, and a 2-man human powered submarine.

The major doesn’t necessarily determine what field the Midshipmen’s future Naval Career job will be in – they have the option to select what they feel is a good fit for them and also based on what the Navy needs.  So, for example, I talked with a Political Science major who hopes to be a Naval Pilot and another student is an Aerospace Engineering major who would like to be on Submarines in the future.  When the students select their desired areas for a career, they rank their top 3 preferences.  About 86% of the students are given their 1^st choice, nearly 96 receive their 1^st or 2^nd choice and the remaining students end up with their 3^rd choice.  The seniors that we met are very focused on the fact that they will receive their commissions (their Naval jobs) this coming Thursday and it is an exciting day for them so they are anxiously awaiting finding out what they will be doing in the future.  In order to help the Midshipmen to determine what fields would be the best fit, their summers are split into 3 segments – they can participate in different learning opportunities and trainings such as being on a ship or submarine, taking summer classes, traveling abroad, or developing their leadership through various opportunities such as assisting with the Summer Seminar.

The faculty at the Naval Academy is comprised of half military officers (who typically rotate back to the fleet every 3 years) and half civilians who all have PhD’s and provide consistency as they typically are there for long periods of time.  Considering how difficult the academics are at the Naval Academy I really appreciated the commitment that they have to support students who want and need additional help.  Students can sign up for “Supplemental” assistance if they are having a tough time.  If that is not enough then they also offer “EI” which stands for “Extra Instruction” which is a chance for the student to meet 1:1 with their professor for more help in the classes.

Students attending the Naval Academy do still have opportunities for International Engagement during their 4 years.  For some this may be a traditional study abroad where they spend a semester overseas, but for others it is a week or a month-long process traveling to learn in other countries.

At the library we met an incredibly kind and thoughtful woman at the circulation desk who was generous with her time and knowledge to help us understand more about what life is like on the “Navy Yard” and for the Midshipmen as well as for the families of people who work at the Academy.  One of the coolest things she told us was that there are tunnels which connect the Library and runs under/ through three of the buildings before coming to an end.  I also appreciated the fact that the library was so similar to the libraries that you would find on any other college campus.

One of the big aspects that many of the speakers emphasized was their desire to put students in situations where they fail and learn how to overcome their failures.  They want them to realize that the key is to keep moving forward so that in the future, when it really matters they will be able to be in tough situations and continue toward their goals.  This was a concept that resonated well with me since that is a belief that we try to focus on at Kilbourne.

More updates about the Naval Academy and photos to come tomorrow!

United States Naval Academy

Hi Everyone.  Did you miss me at school today?  I spent most of the day traveling and have now arrived in Annapolis, Maryland - home of the United States Naval Academy.  I will be here through Friday.  I had forewarned you that I would probably not blog much if at all this week while I am gone and after receiving the agenda I can confirm that I won't be able to blog again until Friday.  (We start tomorrow at 6:30am and return to the hotel at 10pm!)  Yikes!  So, hopefully you will be patient with me while I learn as much as possible about the opportunities available at the Naval Academy and I promise to share updates with you once I am back in Ohio.

Tonight, I did have the chance to attend the first meeting which featured a presentation by Vice Admiral Carter who serves as the Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy.  He is a 1981 graduate of the USNA and has a VERY impressive military history prior to taking this position several years ago.  He graduated as a Flight Officer, then graduated from the Navy Fighter Weapons School, Top Gun, and then completed the Navy's Nuclear Power Program.  This resulted in him being a commander for many deployments and receiving an incredible number of awards.  He was an impressive speaker and all I could think as I listened to him was how inspiring he was and how unbelievably smart he is - an incredible leader of the college.

We haven't actually stepped foot on the base yet, but I am incredibly excited for the chance to learn and see more in the days to come and I really hope that I will get to see the Kilbourne grads who are now Midshipmen at the USNA.

Have a great week!