Personal Narrative: My Experience At The US Naval Academy

Four or Five years ago if you were to tell me that I would be confidently applying to the University of Miami I would have laughed. Through high school I did not give much effort and like most of my peers, thought that furthering my education was my only option. Nearing the end of my senior year I started realizing that no noteworthy university would even consider accepting someone like me. As the days ticked away, I applied to a nearby college with an incredibly high acceptance rate and found myself opening an acceptance letter a few weeks later.

I was once the big fish in a small pond, but now I find myself as a worm on a hook in an ocean of big fish. Starting this journey, I can say that I was overcome with all types of emotions all at once: anxiety, fear, excitement, inadequateness, and at the end of it all I was finally calm. Knowing that I had just accomplished something that not even six months ago wasn’t even in my life plans. As a platoon, we performed feats that as individuals or a group you would never attempt let alone think about have accomplished. The slogans during that time of my career were “be all you can be in the Army” or “we do more before 9 am than most people do all day.” Within my first four years I got to travel the world and see places that most people would only dream about from Antarctica to Panama, and even to the pyramids in Egypt, I got to see it all. The military had such a powerful and profound hold on me I couldn’t think of anywhere else I would rather be. I was once told by my 1SG after a very long and trying day he said “Private Williams, where else can grown men and women have this much fun and still get paid. “I thought and pondered on what he had said, and even today 26 years later I still ask myself the same question, and it always goes back to the same answer, wearing the uniform serving my country side by side with my brothers and sisters in

In September, I had the opportunity to visit the Naval Academy for a “Candidate Visit Weekend.” During my two-night visit, I was paired with a current midshipman, whom I accompanied to classes, meals, and a sports practice. Personally experiencing daily life at the Academy and meeting current midshipmen has reinforced my desire to join their ranks. The most inspiring thing about the midshipmen I met was the effort that they put into succeeding. Being a part of this culture, even for two days, has shown me that I can work just a little harder, and that I can push myself just a little further. Since returning home, I have done just that in numerous ways.

My goal in attending a United States Service Academy and becoming an officer in the military is to provide myself ample opportunities to reach my established life goals. I plan to pursue a career in aerospace engineering, and developing that career through one of the academies will help me to achieve the dreams I had as a child. I have many strengths that will help me stand out in the application process, but at the same time, I have challenges to overcome. However, these obstacles will not hinder me from from pursuing my passion.

As my high school career ends, I notice increasingly how much life that I have yet to live and the opportunities available to me in the years ahead. The past four years have been great preparation for my future endeavors, but college is the path leading to my full potential. In order to reach the end of this path, I utilize my most valuable trait—determination—to set short and long-term goals and achieve them. It is with this “can do” spirit—like the one my grandpa, a former Navy Seabee, evinces through his stories—that I have set my personal goals: to volunteer my time in service to others, further develop leadership skills through experiential learning, and excel at my school work no matter how challenging it may seem. Though these may

I have been accepted to AFS-USA's international exchange program to Norway. I will be spending my sophomore year living with a host family and going to school at a local upper secondary school. I am awaiting the information regarding where I will be located in Norway, as well as my paperwork for a Norwegian visa. As long as the final stages of my application go through, I will depart this August and return the following July.

Throughout my freshman year at Notre Dame Preparatory I have participated in many new activities that have allowed me to grow in character, leadership, and service. Examples of such activities include school athletics, membership in the United States Civil Air Patrol, and ushering at my Catholic parish. Through school athletics I have not only grown in my athletic ability in the sports of track and cross country, but I have grown in my ability to move through adversity and challenges. In addition to my participation in school sports I joined the United States Air Force Auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol. Through Civil Air Patrol I have grown tremendously through classes every week, a week long training

The Long Gray Line from West Point has done more than serve as college educated workers in America’s workforce and officers in the United States Military. The men and women who have attended the United States Military Academy have shaped and led our nation throughout its history, and I want to be a part of the next chapter. I want to give all that I can and more to the academy and afterwards to the Army. West Point is, without a doubt, the place where I belong.

Most of the people who come here are given opportunities that they in turn make into realities. I would love to preseve this aspect of this country, in order for it to keep offering such opportunities. I feel prepared for the challenges to come at my entry to the academy, and I will accept and exceed at them in whatever forms they are presented to me. I will climb up the ranks, gain the respect and recognition of my peers, and make a name for myself, upon exit. I am hopeful that I will attend the Naval Academy, because only the finest are allowed to attend, and I see myself at that

I truly believe the Navy's most valuable assets are its people, requiring quality training, positive role models, and strong leadership. As a commissioned officer, I will combine my knowledge from the enlisted and officer communities to help shape and develop Sailors and Marines requisite to executing our mission requirements. This opportunity will allow me to become a more tactically-minded war fighter and the authority to make key decisions at precise times. More importantly, I will help sustain the Navy's leadership requirements and uphold the superb reputation of our elite Mustang community.

Before my arrival to the Naval Academy Preparatory School, I was well aware that I would be challenged mentally, physically and morally. I knew that my success at NAPS would warrant an appointment to the Naval Academy, and it would be based off of my best efforts. I struggled through the curriculum while at NAPS, but I endured by turning to the professors and tutors during their office hours in order to fully prepare myself for upcoming exams. I knew that in order to get through the Academy, it was absolutely essential that I carried over the qualities of hard work and perseverance over the following four years. The academics at the Academy proved to be challenging, and I relied on my personal sense of hard work and dedication in order to

I joined the Marine Corps looking for a challenge. I wanted to open doors for a new career and longed to have a positive impact on the world around me. Looking back five years later, I realize I found all that I originally sought, but I’ve also found something profoundly satisfying and meaningful that I never knew I was missing.

My first visit to the Naval Academy was on family trip while in grammar school. On this and subsequent visits, the young men and women who chose to devote their lives to country and service greatly impressed me. As a high school student, I had the good fortune to experience Academy life via my acceptance to the competitive Summer STEM program, my invitation to Candidate Visit Weekend, and my participation in the Elite Throws Sports Camp. Through these first-hand experiences, I grew in awareness and commitment to an Academy education as an opportunity to enable me to serve my country. Moreover, I am honored to be a member of a gold star family, via my uncle Senior Master Sergeant Peter Bondi, recently deceased on active duty, and to have had a grandfather who served in the National Guard. Eulogies delivered for my Uncle Peter reflected a life of service and were a source of inspiration that fueled my resolve to serve.

Several months, I have been tossing the idea about joining the Navy. My family was aware about Navy was possibility option. Recently, I have contacted a Navy Recruiter, and I have not told my family about me talking to a recruiter. My family is important aspect of my life, so the conversation needs to happen sooner than later. When I bring up the Navy conversation, my intention would ease my family in acceptance of their daughter leaving the state. Joining the Navy would impact me and my family, and the impact on my family would tribute to the difficult conversation. In following joining the Navy would impact me and my family, and the impact on my family would tribute to the difficult conversation. Underlie feeling have huge impact on person’s attributions and judgement. A difficult conversation affects the identity of a person. Therefore, intention by the conversation was important.

Through what was a tough summer training and is so far an enlightening academic year, the Coast Academy Scholars Program is preparing me for the Academy by changing the way I think, improving my time management, and increasing my confidence in completing specific tasks. The program, within a short amount of time, has instilled in me some healthy habits that I can develop in the future that’ll mature me into an admirable young man at the academy.