U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup invites students and their parents to attend Academy Day at McClain High School in Greenfield Saturday, Nov. 10 for information about the nomination process for admission to a service academy like West Point.
Registration will be from 1 to 1:30 p.m. with presentations from West Point, the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine academies from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the McClain High School auditorium.
“The academies are fantastic,” Wenstrup said Thursday. “We live in an area that has people with a lot of desire to serve their country. There are some districts where representatives I work with have no one seeking nomination to any of the service academies, but here in Southern Ohio we have a pretty robust group of people who want to go to West Point, or the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Merchant Marine academy.”
Wenstrup said his nephew graduated from West Point last year, and will be one of the speakers at a presentation scheduled for Saturday morning at Clermont County’s Union Township Civic Center in Glen Este.
The congressman said he will join service academy representatives at both of the Saturday events, providing opening remarks and introducing the presentations.
“The academies bring in their own people and set up an information table,” he said, “and it gives young people who are thinking about the academies a chance to talk with them, get their questions answered and see what it’s all about.”
The pathway to an academy nomination is competitive and selective, as is admission, according to Ann Tumolo, communications director for Wenstrup’s office.
“All of the service academies, except for the Coast Guard, require applicants to be nominated by a member of Congress or some other authorized nominating source,” she said.
Tumolo said the service academies offer opportunities for motivated young men and women to serve their country while at the same time receiving a college education at no expense.
In place of tuition, the academies require military service after graduation.
“Obviously, getting good grades is a plus,” Wenstrup said. “Participating in sports and extracurricular activities, as well as doing some sort of volunteer work, basically anything that shows your academic record and demonstration of leadership ability in and out of the classroom is going to get the attention of the admission folks at these academies.”
He emphasized that students interested in a service academy nomination should be participating in activities where they have to take responsibility or demonstrate that they can be an effective part of a team.
If students or parents are unable to attend the McClain High School presentation Saturday, they can call Wenstrup’s office to speak with academy coordinator Annie Cummins at 513-474-7777 for more information.
Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.
