It feels pretty strange to already be December, but the colder temperatures keep reminding me of the fact. Early December will be a pretty busy time period. My mother’s 45th birthday is on Friday, something she is not happy about. My grandmother had my family over for dinner and surprised my mom with a birthday cake so we could have an early celebration while I was home for Thanksgiving, My grandmother makes a great pound cake with the best icing, so I was glad to be there and to also be able to bring back a couple of pieces with me to Tech. Of course, it was eaten by Sunday evening. As a little birthday surprise, before I left, I put a large magnetic “VT” on the rear of my mom’s SUV, just under her UVA and AXO sorority stickers. I don’t think she has noticed yet, but it’s pretty funny because she said her and my dad’s college stickers go on their vehicles and mine and my brother’s will go on the car we share.

Since I have left, my mom said she has started putting up Christmas decorations. Decorating the tree is slow for her because of the number of ornaments we have. (Every year, she and my grandmother buy special ornaments for me and my brother to represent things that occurred during the year, like a guitar for guitar lessons, or a car ornament the year we got driver’s licenses.) This year, my mom did say it was weird hanging both UVA and VT ornaments on the same tree, but she was just kidding me. I think my brother will go to VT next year, so she will be outnumbered by then.

It’s weird knowing how much has to be accomplished in the next couple of weeks. Adults are feeling stressed getting ready for the holidays, and students are feeling stressed with final projects, papers, and exams. I just had my Chem Lab final on Tuesday, so I am glad to have that behind me. One less thing to worry about. I will have to stay focused and pace myself so that I will be prepared enough for Linear Algebra. That’s a final I can take any time, but taking it too soon, I may not be prepared enough, but if I was too late, I may be too tired from all the other finals and also may have a difficult time finding a computer at the Math Emporium. My parents say they used to get real stressed during finals and how easy it is for grades to drop an entire letter grade if you aren’t careful. I don’t plan on letting that happen.

Another thing I am thinking about is employment during Winter Break. I tried meeting with the Costco manager when I was home during Thanksgiving, but he was too busy and would not even take my resume. I completed the online application and lots of goofy questions (work scenarios), but since they require tons of screening and drug tests, I don’t know if they’ll even bother hiring me for four weeks of employment. It’s been about a week now since I filled out that application. The other place I applied to was Best Buy. Again, I went into the store to make a personal contact with the manager, but he was too busy to speak with me but someone told me that he usually contacts people within a week of submitting an application. I then filled out the online application at the end of last week, so I hope to hear something soon. I would rather work at Costco, but I will feel lucky to get either job. Unfortunately, the online applications do not allow applicants to submit a resume, and their questions and the space provided does not let an applicant provide much detail. I feel that my resume is a lot more impressive than the applications would allow. I do not have job experience due to spending one summer at Governor’s School and Boys State, and then last summer, my job at Fort Belvoir fell through at the last minute, and no one else was hiring by that time. But I do have a lot of leadership experience through volunteer activities. For example, I was my Order of the Arrow (OA) Chapter’s Community Service Chairman for one year and Co-Chairman for two years, where I organized a year round program for youth and adult Arrowmen to support BSA Troop and Community programs. But when the online application asked if I had ever used a cash register or floor buffer, I had to say “no,” even though I am more than capable of doing all the things they asked about. I hope they give me a chance, and I can really use the money.

I need to get my mind back on studying. This is a shorter blog than I normally write, so if I think of something to add, I will do so later.

Thanksgiving Break

It’s Tuesday afternoon of Thanksgiving break and as busy as I have been since my last class on Thursday, I had better get my weekly blog completed or it may not get done. My mom came down last Friday morning to get me and my roommate. She wanted to eat lunch in D2, and after we were done and my roommate got out of his class at 12:30pm, we loaded the car and headed for home. Would you believe we did not arrive home until about 7pm? There was an accident on Route 81 near Harrisonburg and we were in standstill traffic, so we took rural Route 33 into the mountains and across Skyline Drive and picked up Route 29 just north of Charlottesville. No one got car sick, but it was a crazy route. After dropping my roommate off at his house, we arrived home for a late dinner. (My mom left a roast cooking in the crock pot.) My brother and I stayed up real late talking and playing Modern Warfare II on Xbox.

Saturday morning, my mom got us all up early for swine flu shots. I did not want to get one and pretty much insisted that I would not go because I do not trust the H1N1 vaccine since it was manufactured quickly outside the US where they did not have to follow normal safety standards. But my mom then told me and my brother that my grandfather just found out that he had cancer and that we would needed to stay healthy so that we could go around him during his treatment this winter and early spring. There were hundreds of people at the county government center for the shots, but the lines moved pretty quickly. After that, we went in search for a Donnie Darko DVD for my brother’s Design MultiMedia class project, and for a LAN hub so I can get Internet on my PC in my dorm room. After lunch, I went to see the Costco manager about employment during Winter Break, but he did not want to talk to me or see my resume and said I had to apply online. (I thought making personal contact first would be good, but I guessed wrong.) The Costco application required my social security number, which I felt funny about, and had a long series of scenarios and questions of what I would most and least likely do in a given situation if working in the store. Our Internet connection was not good that afternoon and this took a long time. Saturday night we had a nice steak dinner and then watch Donnie Darko. When everyone else had gone to bed, I talked on Skype with some of my college friends who were also still up. (My local friends have still not returned home from college.)

I slept in some on Sunday and then went to the Nutcracker with my grandmother. She was real glad that my brother and I would still go to a ballet with her, but we knew it meant a lot to her, so we went. It was something we did when we were very young and she said she would like to go again when I was home on break. One of the dancers was the daughter of my former Sunday school teacher, “Mr. Bob,” who had died on 9-11 at the Pentagon. My mom made another good dinner and I started studying for my Calculus finals that evening.

Monday was a packed day. I had a 9am dental appointment and at 10:30am optometrist appointment, which meant that because of traffic, we had to leave the house just after 8am. After that, we searched for a pharmacy with seasonal flu vaccines in stock. The third place had some and after a wait, the pharmacist gave me a shot. (I made a mistake of letting her give me the shot in the same arm as Saturday’s vaccine, which made my arm really sore.) After that, we went to four or five stores in search of pants. (I thought my dirty pants from school were in my laundry basket, but it turned out that I only had the pair that I wore home for the week, except for church clothes I left at home in my closet.) That was frustrating shopping for clothes, something I do not like to do. We had a late pizza lunch with my grandparents, and then went home around 2:30pm. It was a cold, rainy day, and I was feeling exhausted by then, so I went to sleep around 3pm. My mom woke me up for dinner, and then I went back to bed. I pretty much slept until morning, ate breakfast at 6am, and went back to bed until 11am today! I could not believe how much I slept. My mom thinks it’s a result of having two flu shots so close together. Basically today, I have only gotten a little studying done, so I feel a little behind now from where I wanted to be at this point. Since my best friend will be home from the US Air Force Academy later tonight and we will spend tomorrow together, and other people will be around this weekend, I had hoped to get a lot done by now, especially since my Chem Lab final will be Tuesday right after I return to school. Soon, I will run over to the high school to visit some of my old teachers, and then I will try to get more studying done.

Basically, Thanksgiving Day will be pretty quiet. My mom will be making a huge dinner here and my grandparents will be coming over. We have also invited some neighbors whose son died of a brain aneurysm in October, but I am not sure if they will be coming. (The father has had high blood pressure and heart problems since the death and may not be well enough to travel to visit their married daughter.) It’s sad that we are entering a holiday season and there are people who are dealing with grief because I know it’s going to be a difficult time for them.

Last Weekend's Nomination Interview

At 9 am last Saturday, I went to my local Congressman’s office in Annandale, Virginia for a 45 minute long interview. There were two days with three time sessions on each day to do the interview. Each one of the time slots had about three candidates who were being interviewed. I was the first one of the three candidates to arrive at the congressman’s office at around 8:40. The two others showed up before 9 but one of them was almost late. We were greeted by a woman who works for the congressman and then by a member of the Military Academy Nomination selection board. He is a 1967 West Point graduate and further explained how the interviews were going to work. What he explained was how we would interview with three people for fifteen minutes each. Once we were done with each of the three interviews, we could then leave.
I was the first person to be called back by one of the interviewers. He asked me several questions about why I wanted to attend West Point and some more questions about my application file. I was surprised when we finished after only about eight minutes of talking because he didn’t have any more questions for me. He didn’t have to question anything that was in my application file, which is good, and he just asked me to explain some things further to him, such as my Eagle Scout Project, because he was curious and wanted to get to know me better. I have found situations like this good in an interview when they can discuss things other than the basic requirements for admissions to the academy, because it means that he thinks I have met all of the requirements and just wants to know what type of person I am.
The second person who interviewed me was a retired Colonel who I had known from applying last year. He was very friendly with me, and asked me how things were going. He, just like all of the other interviewers mentioned how strong of a candidate I was, and hardly talked about my application file, and focused more on me as an individual. We discussed college for a while and how well my classes were going this year, as well as scouting. He had been involved with scouting, but couldn’t earn the rank of Eagle Scout when he was younger because his family was having financial problems and he had to get a full time job to support them. We talked about the Order of the Arrow, which is scouting’s honor society, and which I have been awarded the highest honor in the organization. I was surprised to find out that he was a “Brotherhood” member, and he was very impressed that I had earned the Vigil Honor, which is the highest honor. We talked for the entire fifteen minutes and he wished me good luck, and said that he thought I should have gotten in last year and that he was sure I would have no problems getting in this year.
I was not surprised by what every one of the three interviewers asked me. Each one had asked me why I didn’t get in the first time. Each of them were surprised that I hadn’t gotten in, and wanted to know if the admissions team at West Point had informed me why I wasn’t selected. I told them that I had failed the running event on the Candidate Fitness Assessment the first time I took it last year, and my Regional Commander had informed me that it had pushed me far enough away from failing that one event and having to retake it, that it kept me out of the academy that year. I was only about 20 people away from getting in. They rank every person applying and accept them based on that ranking. This year, I had greatly improved my CFA scores and maxed out on several of the events, and they were very impressed with my new scores.
The third person who interviewed me was another retired officer. She was impressed like all of the other interviewers. She had commented on how good my recommendation letters were, but focused on one of them, which was written by my AP Physics teacher from high school. She was a West Point graduate in the class of 1999 and served in combat in Iraq two years ago. She had written about how she thought I would make a great combat officer, and the interviewer was really impressed that a combat veteran had said that I would make a great combat officer.
After the interview was over, I find out that the West Point graduate who was greeting people worked with people that my dad knew, so he was talking with my dad for the entire time. That man is also in the group of people who decides who receive a nomination, so hopefully having talked with my dad for 45 minutes, he will think positively about me even though he didn’t interview with me. I received a nomination last year from this same group of people, so I think that I should receive one this year as well since all of my scores have gone up.
My congressman has decided to let West Point rank the people applying for nominations in his district so they can evaluate who are the most qualified for admissions to the academy. This is really good because politics no longer is a factor in who gets a nomination, and since I have a good relationship with my Regional Commander, who is one of the people who gets to make the decision now, I think that I am even more likely to receive a nomination and an appointment from West Point.

This past week has been really busy with school work. With an engineering curriculum, I am already very busy, but I have been even more so this past week. Last Thursday afternoon, I took my third Chemistry test. In most of my classes, I have very high grades and am doing quite well. The effort I am putting forth in my studies are paying off there. However, Chemistry is a different story. It isn’t that I am having problems understanding the material, because I am not. And my Chemistry homework scores are high and reflect my effort and that I understand the material. (I have even consulted different text books, outside my class materials, for extra practice and review.) My problem is with the actual tests themselves, the formatting of which seems to cause me trouble.
Each Chemistry test is only 30 problems long, which already does not allow for mistakes without impacting chances for high grades, and for the first two chapter tests, each of those problems required many steps of detailed work to get to the solutions. Test answers are also either right or wrong. There is no partial credit. These tests have to be taken very seriously.
Whenever I do Chemistry problems for homework, I am very methodical and always show all of my work so I know exactly what I am doing and what the next step will be. (My high school AP Physics teacher always commented on how good my habits are and that they will make me a successful engineer.) This process of showing each step helps me to avoid errors while I am calculating an answer. On the test, however, my professor does not allow the use of additional paper to solve problems and says that we have enough space in the borders of the test if we really need room for calculations, which is ridiculous. (He seems to think using calculators eliminates work on paper and that we should do the rest in our heads.) The students in this particular professor’s class are very upset with his rule and most say they cannot solve complex Chemistry problems in their heads. I know that he is an exceptionally bright man as he earned his PhD when he was only 20 years old. Some have even referred to him as being a genius. It seems to me that he is orienting the class towards people who are only like him and who automatically grasp the material, and it really makes it difficult for the rest of the students who are either having more difficulty with the material or who have a different method of working through problems.
The professor also does not do a good job of explaining the material. In lecture, he will simply read the material from a power point presentation that another professor had created, without providing any comments or elaboration. He will then show us some practice problems but does not explain why he does certain things. He just speeds through examples that rarely make sense. So, his lectures are almost pointless to attend. (I have never skipped one, however, because I keep hoping it will pay off at some point.) The only students in my class who seem to know what is going on during lectures are those who were in AP Chemistry in high school and already came in with a good understanding of the material. Unfortunately, I did not take AP Chemistry, so I do a lot of outside study and practice to keep up in this class. If I had the time in my schedule, it would be worthwhile to also sit in on another professor’s lectures, but I really don’t have the time, and Chemistry lectures are one of those classes that always seem to be full.

On a more positive note, I had a great time on Halloween this past weekend. Most of my friends went out to parties on Friday night, but I declined so that I could complete all of my schoolwork so I could go out on Saturday night instead and also not have to worry about much schoolwork on Sunday. On Saturday night, one of the guys living in the room next to me dressed up as Paul Bunyan and rode his bike to parties while carrying an axe over his shoulder. He actually got stopped on his way by one of the VT Police Officers, who suggested that he find a better way to carry the axe so he didn’t scare others on campus! The officer explained that he could not stop my friend from carrying the Halloween prop since it was technically a tool, and not a weapon. Because of that fact, my friend has decided to keep the axe in his room since it against no rule and looks pretty cool.
One of my other friends got together with several other guys and dressed up as those miniature plastic green army men that have been around forever and can be bought at Dollar Stores. They looked exactly like the toys, but life size. They spray painted themselves green and made cardboard weapons and plastic stands so they would look exactly like the plastic green army men, and then held poses representative of the little toys in different places around campus and downtown Blacksburg. They actually did this both nights and had a lot of fun.
Back to Friday night. My roommate came in drunk and decided to hand out all of his candy that he had purchased at Wal-Mart earlier in the day. He’s a pretty happy/outgoing guy, but still, I had never seen him this happy before. It was really funny to watch. The next morning, when he woke up, he was wondering why he had given out all of his candy the night before. He’s a ‘funny drunk’ and always provides entertainment when he comes back to the dorm after a night out.
On Saturday night, I went out with a large group of people from my building in search of a good party. After about a half an hour of searching, I split off from the main group along with three other guys from my floor. We went to an apartment building above Gumby’s Pizza and ended up staying there for three hours. It was the best party that any of us had been to. It was mostly dancing, and the DJ was really good. Once we returned to the dorm (around 1 am), we were all pretty tired, but stayed up talking until 3 am before heading to bed. One of the guys we had been with, whom I had just met that evening, had been drunk for 28 hours straight. He was a friend of one of my friends on my hall who had come from his college in West Virginia to party at Virginia Tech for the weekend. He is also a ‘funny drunk’ and pretty entertaining to watch him, especially for those of us who had not been drinking.
Overall, Halloween night was the best time that I have had while at Virginia Tech so far. I can’t wait until the next time we find a really good party to attend. Every couple of weeks they say there’s a pretty decent party, so I am hoping to join this group again soon.

West Point Interview

At 2:00pm today, I had a phone interview that was rescheduled from last week with my Military Academy Liaison Officer (MALO), Mr. O’Brien. The interview was primarily for him to assess my readiness to become a Cadet at West Point and an Officer in the US Army. Interviews of the sort can be as short as 45 minutes or can last an hour or two, depending on how many questions the MALO has to ask in order to satisfy himself that he has a good feel for the candidate. Today’s interview lasted about an hour.
Last year at this time, I had this interview with a different representative, who was very tough with his questions and the answers he expected. The interview was at my house on a Sunday afternoon and pretty intense. Since he was also assessing how much I wanted to actually attend West Point, it was obvious to me that he was trying to put me under a lot of pressure, in both the questions he asked me and by his arrogant manner. I remember one question in particular, when he asked me, “What does Honor mean to a Cadet at West Point and a US Army Officer?” I apparently did not express myself the exact way he wanted, and he badgered me until I stated exactly what he was thinking, even though what I first stated in response to his question was about identical to the answer he was expecting, just in slightly different words. The interview was possibly the hardest that I had ever gone through at this point in my life, and here I thought my Eagle Scout Board of Review was a feat to overcome because the District’s Commissioner sat on my Board, and he was tough. (I was only thirteen then, and being in that kind of position was good practice for last year’s MALO interview.) In the end, though, he wrote a very nice review of me and ranked me as a very strong candidate for West Point and said that I would even be an asset to help tutor other students. My father is a US Air Force Academy graduate and said that some interviewers intentionally try to fluster candidates in their questioning, and that it is good that I am calm and handled myself well.
Before the interview today, I was nervous. I tried to anticipate some of the questions Mr. O’Brien would likely ask me and came up with some answers so I would be able to give a well thought out response. I have been in contact with my new MALO for only two or three weeks now and most of that time was in trying to coordinate a date and a time for the interview. Just by the emails that we sent back and forth, I could tell that Mr. O’Brien was a much nicer person and not nearly as arrogant as my last Liaison Officer. I was hoping that I would feel more comfortable during this interview than I did last year, and thought there was a good chance it would go smoothly.
As it turned out, the interview went well. Talking over the phone and not seeing normal body language and facial expressions actually was not an issue since Mr. O’Brien was pleasant and nonthreatening. I felt like I was talking to someone who had a true interest in me and who was not trying to pick a fight or put me down. We talked as if we already knew each other and I feel like I answered his questions to his satisfaction. It was a much more comfortable experience than last year.
Next weekend is the big interview, the nomination interview. Without a nomination, there is no hope of West Point for me. In order to be offered an appointment to a US Military Academy (being fully accepted), a cadet candidate must obtain a nomination from either their Congressman, one of their two Senators, the Vice President, or the President. Presidential nominations are reserved for prior service candidates (people currently serving in the Army as enlisted soldiers) or children of career military personnel. The nomination is the legal authority for a candidate to attend the Academy as a Cadet.
Congressmen and Senators can nominate up to only ten candidates each year out of hundreds of applicants who begin the process. This process is very competitive in northern Virginia. Last year, Congressman Tom Davis gave me a nomination. Now I have to hope that Congressman Gerry Connolly will do the same. I will leave for northern Virginia after class on Friday, and have a 9am interview the next morning.
The Congressional nomination interview is supposed to take 45 minutes and is in front of a panel of people. Each one will ask me questions about my admissions file at the Academy, as well as my qualifications. There are always individuals on the interview panel who are like my first MALO, which is probably intentional. The panel is supposed to sort out the best candidates for the available nomination slots. From my Congressional District, nearly 45 people have made it this far in the process and will be interviewing for a USMA nomination this Tuesday evening and next Saturday. Like I said, ten is the maximum, and elected officials do not even have to fill those ten slots if they do not want to.
Hopefully the nomination interview next week will also go well. One of the retired Army Officers who is in charge of the nomination process in the area where I live had told me that since I had already been awarded a nomination last year and been found “fully qualified” by West Point Admissions, he did not see why I would not be awarded one this year as well. But having that nomination in my hand (hopefully by Christmas) will make me feel better. Then I can focus 100% on my school work and grades.

This Weekend

My weekly blog will have to be done in segments this week. I have my engineering group project presentation this evening, which will be interesting to see how it goes with the unreliable student, and a lot going on Friday after class through Saturday. The last time I wrote on the subject of the ACT testing for West Point, the transportation details made it impossible for me to retake the ACT in Roanoke this weekend. (The bus that runs from Blacksburg to Roanoke would get me to the bus station several miles from the high school where the test is being administered after the test is to begin.) I had communicated with my West Point regional representative and told him that the ACT people would not allow me to take the test at Virginia Tech because it is less than 50 miles away from the nearest testing location (it’s more than 50 miles if they look at the public transportation route I would have to rely on.) What surprised me is my regional representative suggested that I get a hotel the night before! Because the nearest hotel is 12 miles away from the high school and no hotels have a bus route to the high school, my parents will be coming down tomorrow afternoon and we will be staying in a hotel in Salem Friday night so they can drive me to the ACT test in Roanoke.
I think my regional representative is testing me or something, or not thinking. I did very well on my ACT test last year and have two friends from my high school who do not have the leadership or academic qualifications that I do, both who were shocked that I came close but did not get into West Point yet they got into an Academy. My regional representative is new and has told me to get “all As” in college this year and to retake the ACT, neither of which my old regional representative said to me. (He told me that I came so close, was in the top 12 of the South East US but they did not have enough slots, and to reapply this year, and continue to do well in school.) I am trying my best to get all As, but for engineering curriculum, that is very difficult and unreasonable, and the ACT test is just taking away time from sleep and studies this weekend. (I already have to travel to northern Virginia on November 6th to interview the next morning in an attempt to get a Congressional nomination, because since I am not in a military family, without a nomination, West Point won’t even be an option for me.) I know it sounds like I am complaining, but I do not mean to be. I know that reapplying to West Point is my decision and would be time consuming again without any guarantees, but something like the ACT test while I am already in college and proving myself as capable is silly at this point. (I was already over 90th percentile on it.) I am so tired from this week; I might even do worse on it. And taking standardized tests are long and draining, after which I will need to catch up on my normal work. Good news is my parents say they will take me out to Ryan’s in Christiansburg before heading to Salem/Roanoke on Friday. I ate there last month and the food is pretty good, especially the steak. A big meal and early night to bed will be nice.

This has been a pretty good weekend. I met my parents after class on Friday afternoon and went with them to dinner in Christiansburg and then to Salem to the hotel. We watched a movie and went to bed around 10pm. My cold is still pretty bad and coughing kept me up for a little while, but I slept ok after that and got up at 5:30am to eat and drive to the ACT test at Cave Spring High School. The lady checking me in did a double take when she saw my Virginia Tech student ID. She hesitated for a moment but continued the process. The test itself went well, except for having to blow my nose, which I tried not to do too often so I wouldn’t disturb other people. I got done around 1pm and went to Golden Corral near the Roanoke airport before heading back to campus. Since the weather was nicer on Saturday, my parents and I walked around campus before they left for home around 5:00pm.
I tried to get some homework done after that, but I was pretty tired and the dorms were rowdy. I worked on some math problems off and on until late, and then I lost my voice. I really don’t feel as badly as I did earlier in the week, but this cold affecting my voice had bad timing. Because I was supposed to have a 1:00pm phone interview today with my new Military Academy Liaison Officer (MALO), Mr. O’Brien, I had to send him an email to post pone it until my voice was better. He has had the flu this past week and said it was ok to call him later in the week when we both were feeling better. I am very disappointed to have to reschedule the interview because I would like to get everything taken care of as soon as possible. The biggest part will be the nomination interview with Congressman Connolly’s team on November 7 and interviewing with my MALO will be good practice. My group presentation last Thursday went well. A few friends said the two of us did a good job, so the instructor should realize who really worked on the presentation.

Group Project Problems

This past week has been extremely demanding, especially with an engineering group project on top of the normal work load. On a weekly basis, a group of three to four students presents a research topic of their choice to the class, keeping with the assignment titled: “How Stuff Works.” Each group presents on the technical aspects of whatever device or “thing” they choose. My group decided to research computer hard drives and will be presenting our project this Thursday. We chose this topic since it is straight forward and there is a lot of information on the Internet concerning hard drives.

I have had experience in group projects going back to elementary school, and especially in middle and high school. (Fairfax County is big on projects, and many teachers think group projects are valuable.) From my experience, however, group projects are unfair to the students who care about their grades. I have leadership experience from scouting and school clubs, and understand planning, organization, and delegating tasks between members of a group, or following another leader and being an active and valuable group participant. But with school group projects, it most always seems that one or two people end up doing all of the work because at least one individual ends up contributing nothing. I thought that this would be different in college, especially since people who may not typically care would have probably been weeded out through the application process. I was wrong.

My engineering group consists of three people, and I am extremely disappointed and frustrated with one member. I am surprised that this individual got into Virginia Tech or in any college for that matter. It is known that he cannot grasp even the simplest concepts in class, but I thought that a group project that involved research would be an opportunity and he would appreciate working on something non-mathematical or theoretical with hopes of bringing up his grade. Unfortunately, he either does not know how to research or create a PowerPoint presentation, or he does not care to contribute and only wants to benefit from what the other two of us do.

The funny thing about this individual is he desperately wants people to think he is knowledgeable. In class, he corrects people all the time, even though he is usually incorrect himself. On the first Engineering test, known to be a ‘weed-out’ course for engineering students, he mentioned to me that he had gotten a grade in the 40th percent range. I did feel badly for him when I heard that because I am working very hard and know that some grades do end up being lower than the effort put into the class, but I am seeing more and more that he is both dense and not putting forth any real effort. For instance, on the first day of class in our assigned groups, each group was told to build a tower out of straws and paperclips and to go for an efficient structural design. Each group had certain materials and quantities that were available to us, which placed limitations on our design, and our goal was to make the most efficient design possible out of what we had. (Our group was going to go for height, using the least amount of materials). We decided that a pyramid structure would be an excellent base, since pyramids are very sturdy and can support a taller structure. This individual wanted to build a second pyramid to put on top of the first to make it even more structurally sound, which is a good idea, except he had already forgotten our limitation on supplies. Yet, for some reason, even after we pointed out the lack of supplies, he had to be right and kept insisting that we should build a second pyramid structure to put on top of the first. This wasted a lot of time and was very annoying, so we finally let him try to build his second pyramid. His attempt failed of course (he wanted to sneak and get extra material!), so we stopped him and spent five minutes trying to convince him that using any more material would be cheating and would also defeat the purpose of the assignment. He just never seemed to get it, and these sorts of struggles continue to impede any group progress.

Fortunately, the other member of my group is reliable and knows what he is doing and cares about his grade. Unfortunately, his and my being good students still does not make up for what the third group member is lacking. I have just gotten out of a group meeting this afternoon to discuss the PowerPoint that I had made last night using information that I and the reliable team member had gathered. The third member was to have researched certain parts of the assignment and have his part to me by yesterday afternoon like the rest of us, but because he did not, I ended up putting aside work I needed to do for other classes so that I could get his share of the research done and create the PowerPoint. It was 11pm on Saturday night when I got done. The unreliable one told me today that he had found some good websites with information, but never showed it to us or explained why he did not meet our deadline.

At our meeting today, we went through the PowerPoint, making edits as we went, and decided on more detailed talking points to fill the five to eight minute presentation requirement. The unreliable student kept trying to edit the wording on the PowerPoint, which was fine, except none of his suggestions made any sense to the other two of us. It was as if he was looking for things to challenge us on and was detracting from what we needed to accomplish. The PowerPoint was written as snippets of information which would be used as talking points for our group presentation, where the finer details will be discussed. I am wondering if his insistence of adding complete sentences and every last detail is because he knows that he does not know the material and simply wants to read from the slides. We met for almost an hour and a half and accomplished what would have taken just the two of us about fifteen minutes to complete.

Working with this student is the most frustrating thing that I have had to deal with so far in college. Luckily, after this week’s project presentation, I will never have to work with him again on any more projects. (At least I hope not!) We have another project assigned as larger groups that I am also currently working on, and so far, no one in this group seems useless or counterproductive. It’s unfortunate that this individual is having some of the issues he is having, and I am normally concerned for people who are struggling, but he does not seem to care to do anything but put on a front that he is knowledgeable and to create a ruckus, which somehow must make him feel like he is important or something. It’s Sunday afternoon already, and I feel like I need a weekend to recover from this past week and weekend.

Rhetorical Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZb2e_TpmQE

Joseph M. DePinto, President and Chief Executive Officer of 7-Eleven, is an example of a leader with an amazing ability to use his knowledge and skills to achieve impressive goals and success. We all know 7-Eleven as the international chain of convenience stores that sells the popular Slurpee and Big Gulp drinks and now outnumbers McDonald’s by 1,000 stores. 7-Eleven exemplifies success, which we are reminded of each time we pass one of its many busy stores on our roadways. In a recent commercial, the United States Army tapped in on the impressive standing and success of 7-Eleven as an example of what can be achieved by military officers. DePinto, a West Point graduate and former Army officer, no doubt acquired a lot of knowledge and leadership skills while in the military. Whether the Army truly is to be credited for DePinto’s and 7-Eleven’s success cannot be proven; however, it is an interesting story and can give anyone becoming an Army officer hopes of success.

Of course, the US Army will always seek ways to make their commercials as appealing as possible to the general public, and this is especially important now that they are decreasing in numbers due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the past, US Army commercials have been geared towards recruitment of enlisted positions, but today there is the added need to keep higher ranks filled. It appears that this commercial’s goal is to try to entice young people who are either college bound or already in college to view the military experience as a sort of advanced education that will have significant paybacks after a short military career. I would suspect that getting people in the door is what matters most to the Army at this point, and using a middle age man like DePinto says that military service can be a temporary commitment with incredible rewards as a civilian.

Prestige, money, power and image are all motivators in America. This commercial begins with a pleased DePinto driving home to a very nice house, complete with iron security gates, and the narrator stating that “There is no secret to success.” Next DePinto is observed entering a modern and sleek, high rise office building and the narrator saying, “It takes leadership, and a long view…and a belief in yourself, and the ability to inspire others.” The narrator continues by saying, “And there’s no secret to learning these things, either.” What follows are images depicting DePinto’s Army officer experience, showing how officers learn “both on the field, and in any field.” What a powerful recruitment concept, flashing a real world example of a successful businessman who earns millions of dollars through a business known to all, and that his start was something attainable to most anyone, Army officer ship. Linking that level of prestige and monetary success to having served in the US Army is the perfect way to recruit young people in our goal driven society.

The commercial utilizes the techniques of appealing to emotion, logic, and ethics. Again, at the beginning of the commercial when DePinto pulls into his driveway in front of his gated mansion, this image appeals emotionally to most audience members. Everyone would like a very comfortable home, and the way towards that goal for most is success in the work force. Through logic, the Army demonstrates with short video clips that Army officers lead men both in the field and in business. As mentioned above, the viewer is told that “An Army officer learns to lead on the field, and in any field.” And then the narrator challenges the viewer with the question, “Can you?” This example appeals to both logic and emotion because the primary job of an Army officer is to lead their men in combat, and if they are able to do that, then their leadership abilities should carry over to the corporate world. DePinto’s position at 7-Eleven makes him a credible spokesman when it is stated that the Army is one of the best ways to gain leadership skills and was key to his success. As the President and CEO of a corporation that has done amazingly well through any economic downturn in its history, the viewer can be assured that DePinto speaks from experience and has no reason for gaining anything financial for promoting the military. The challenge, “Can you?” makes one feel that it all is doable, if only to prove to the hidden voice, “Yes I can.”

This commercial does evade certain points, however. While serving as an officer in the US Army will provide key leadership experience, the time served will not be easy. Changing locations every 3 - 4 years, often with no say as to where they will be, and deployments and the impact they have on one’s life, were not mentioned in the commercial. Also, out of the millions of people who have served as officers in the Army, how many of them have become multi-millionaires and CEOs of large corporations afterwards? Probability says that the norm will go on to lead average lives and hold what one would consider to be normal jobs. While any leadership experience is valuable, it can be gained in all sorts of arenas, and none promise any guarantees or an easy path to monetary wealth. Never the less, this commercial does an excellent job, I feel, in presenting a possible scenario, although unlikely, to entice the young for Army officer ship. I do, however, find it interesting that no attempt was made to appeal to one’s duty of country or protecting rights and freedoms in this promotion. It was all about using the military as a stepping stone for future wealth potential.

Grandparents Visit

The upcoming weekend has me thinking about my maternal grandparents, “Mimi” and “Deda”. Mimi and Deda live about 15 miles from my home and have been a huge part of my life. They have attended all significant events, and many not so significant events, throughout my life. The most important thing about them is that they make time for me and make me feel special. They have four grandsons, of which I am the oldest, and treat everyone as if they were the most wonderful and unique individuals in the world. I think everyone should have quality grandparents like I have and feel fortunate that I am lucky enough to have them. My father’s parents are also local but favor some grandchildren over others, like they did with their own children. This messes people up and has created problems within the family, but I don’t let it bother me.

I should probably explain their names first. Since I am the oldest grandchild, I can take credit for naming them. I was a little over a year old when my brother was baptized. We have a lot of family in town, including my mother’s grandparents who drove in from Texas. My mom calls her grandparents “Memaw” and “Pepaw.” I was learning to talk and during that weekend started saying, “Mimimimi,” probably imitating my mom calling her grandmother, “Memaw”. I don’t know exactly how, but they say that I mainly said “Mimimi” to my grandmother, so she became, “Mimi.” My grandfather was supposed to be “Granddad,” but I could not say “Granddad.” I got the syllables right, but it came out as “Deda.” Everyone thought that was funny, but the name stuck, and now I have a Mimi and Deda. My uncle’s much younger sons also call my grandparents Mimi and Deda. I think other people probably have a “Mimi,” but I doubt anyone besides us has a “Deda.” I don’t even think about how weird it sounds now. My friends have sometimes asked when they have been over when my grandparents were around, “What do you call your Grandfather? Deda?”

Anyway, Mimi and Deda have an annual tradition of taking me and my brother (a year younger than me) on short summer trips. These excursions are usually two or three days at Ocean Isle Beach or Nags Head, followed by a couple of days visiting a historical site, such as Jamestown or Colonial Williamsburg, on our way home. They have been doing this since we were about four and five years old, and it is something I look forward to and have never outgrown. This past summer was a little different because my brother would be at Boys State and Governor’s School and I had VT Orientation on the calendar, so we had to get a quick, short trip in at the beginning of summer as soon as school got out. (Fairfax County schools don’t get out until later in June.) This year we cut out the beach trip and made a three day trip (July 1 – 3) to Philadelphia instead. That was an amazing trip. I have always enjoyed history and the city is unique compared to D.C. and Richmond. We began our trip by visiting the Independence Visitor Center and then headed towards the Liberty Bell and Independence Square, where Independence Hall, Congress Hall, and the Supreme Court Chamber are. Congress Hall was the Congress and Senate’s first building, where the terms “Upper & Lower Houses” for the Senate and Congress were derived, because the upper floor of the building was where the Senate met, and the lower floor was where the House of Representatives met. We also took a Duck tour of the city, where we saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall & Congress Hall again, and also Washington Square, Society Hill, Merchant’s Exchange, Ben Franklin’s Grave, The Mint, Betsy Ross’ House, Christ Church, Franklin Court, and several other places.

The reason I thought to write about my grandparents is they are making a trip down to Tech to see me this Friday afternoon. (I am working on my blog early since I won’t have as much time later in the week.) My grandmother has reserved a room at a hotel in downtown Blacksburg so we will be close to the campus and I will meet them after class in the afternoon. I know they are anxious to see me, my dorm room, and walk the campus. (My Uncle Dave went to Tech in the late 1980s.) My mom is also sending down printer ink and other supplies I am running low on, some food, and warmer clothing. (I thought one hoodie would be enough for fall. I realize now I may need an extra hoodie, cooler weather clothes for jogging, and possibly my winter coat before I go home for Thanksgiving. It gets a lot cooler here earlier in the year than I realized.) I know that my parents will be coming down for Parents’ Weekend later in the month, but my mom keeps worrying about swine flu and also wanted to get me these things now since my grandparents will be coming down earlier. My grandmother has also asked what special foods she can bring down when they visit. (I have a small frig in my dorm room that I can put some stuff in.) Mimi has frozen a couple of slices of her home made pizza that I like so well to bring down.

I will probably stay in the hotel with Mimi and Deda Friday night since we will already be together and so that we can do something Saturday morning without my waking my roommate up, who likes to sleep in. I don’t think they will be staying too late into Saturday since I have so much school work to do each weekend.

Tailgating

I finished a stretch of major tests Thursday evening when I took my Engineering Exploration test and was anticipating some rest and relaxation this weekend, something that I have not had much of since arriving here at Tech. Not that I was going to go too many hours without working on school work, I did look forward to some pre-game festivities. Maybe one of these days I will actually win a ticket in the lottery and attend a home game, but for now, tailgating and possibly watching all of the Virginia Tech – Miami game on TV would suffice. I have just returned from two tailgates and feel refreshed enough to tackle some more chemistry and linear algebra homework.

The heavy rain and lack of an umbrella did not deter me from attending tailgate parties. The first was hosted by the Galileo Program, which I am a member. It was nice hanging out with students from my engineering classes and being able to just talk in a relaxed environment. During the school week, everybody is busy. The tailgate party was inside Lee hall on the 2nd floor in the lounge. It was originally going to be outside, but the weather convinced those who were organizing it to change the location. I was one of the first people to arrive, so I got there before the lines got too long for food. They served hamburgers and hotdogs cooked on the stove. The food was all pretty good and I had a great time hanging out with other people in Galileo.

The second tailgate party was hosted by a VT alumni group from northern Virginia, where I am from. What a small world! This past June, at my friend from high school and now college roommate’s graduation party, another guest recognized my father’s name as being pretty famous in the internet community upon introduction. This man, Mr. Bowman, is a neighbor of my friend/roommate and is working in the same field that my father is nationally known, Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). It is a specialized area that many people have not heard of, so it’s a small world that this man knew of my father. At that party, Mr. Bowman told me how he and some of his Tech friends travel to Blacksburg for home games and that they like to host tailgating parties. He encouraged me to visit his group this fall, which I did for the first time today. I am glad that I went. The VT alumni group had a spectacular assortment of food. I love D2 but still miss home cooking. This group also had hamburgers and hot dogs, but an assortment of other foods as well. The tastiest item there was the homemade sausage, especially the jalapeno filled ones. They also provided an assortment of desserts, including my favorite, brownies. It was pouring down rain all around us and I was wet and chilly from the walk, but we stood under the canopy and talked and ate until full.

I think that it is interesting how at an early summer party, someone recognized my father and then became interested in me when he learned that I was going to attend Virginia Tech. I am far from home and it was nice meeting alumni from my area. Now that I have met more people, I will feel comfortable participating in social and volunteer activities during winter breaks and the summers when I am at home. For such a huge school, Virginia Tech alumni seem like a very close group. And they are definitely proud of their football team! I look forward to the day when I can attend a live VT game myself. I have entered the lottery to win tickets for every game so far, but have not had any luck as of now. I know a few people who have acquired tickets to every home game so far. Most of my friends who are attending games buy the tickets themselves, as opposed to waiting until they win one in the lottery, and have even paid well over $100 for a ticket. I was surprised that there weren’t more people giving away tickets to the Miami game today because of the rain. Just from being outside, even sheltered under a canopy, I still got soaked and was somewhat cold. Several people on my hall who were attending the game came back at half time because it was getting so cold and they were afraid of getting sick. But for the majority of the Hokies I saw, nothing would deter them from tailgating or game attendance. Now that’s school spirit!

The Hurt Locker - Not Just Another War Movie

THE RUSH OF BATTLE IS OFTEN A POTENT AND LETHAL ADDICTION, FOR WAR IS A DRUG. Those were the words displayed across the screen before the opening scene in the movie, The Hurt Locker, the 2009 American war thriller on the Iraqi war. The film follows an EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) Team through their final month in Iraq after their original team leader was killed trying to disarm an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). While this movie is about war and the military, its purpose is not action or combat, but to reveal the struggles within a select Army bomb squad as they try to adjust to a new team lead. These struggles were both internal and external.

The team’s youngest member, Specialist Owen Eldridge, wrestles with issues of life and death after failing to shoot the insurgent who detonated the IED that killed their original team leader. Eldridge meets with a psychologist to discuss his emotional state, namely that he is troubled by a strong feeling that he too will be killed while on a mission. During one particular session, feeling that his psychologist cannot relate to what is troubling him, Eldridge offers for the therapist to accompany the team in the field so he can better understand what his patient has to endure on a daily basis. The psychologist joins the team on a mission and ironically ends up being killed by an IED explosion. In spite of this setback and feeling even more bewildered, SPC Eldridge becomes more and more confident throughout the movie, determined to fight his internal struggles and the demons of war.

For Sergeant JT Sanborn, his difficulty lies more directly with the new team leader, Staff Sergeant William James, than anything internal. SSG James is described by SGT Sanborn as “reckless.” On the team’s first mission under the lead of SSG James, James decides to defy protocol by wearing a bomb suit instead of initially dispatching a robot to examine the suspected IED. This risk taking, added to the fact that James often fails to communicate with his team, has Sanborn rightfully worried. It’s not that anyone is concerned about James’ skill as James has disabled over 870 IEDs and is one of the best technicians, but the problem is that often James does his job with disregard to his team’s safety. The only thing on Sergeant Sanborn’s mind is getting out of Iraq alive and well, and with only one month left in their rotation, he sees James as a threat to their safety and his chances of reaching that date alive.

To SSG James, his job is the best in the world. James is an unusual soul who loves the thrill of disarming IEDs. Having served in the 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan, a unit which has experienced extremely intense combat areas, James was hardened to danger. He sees nothing wrong with the way he works. James likes to have fun while doing his job despite the seriousness of his line of work. While conversing with a Colonel who was complimenting James’ skill, the Colonel dubbed James “a wild man” after asking James what the best way was of disarming an IED. SSG James had replied, “The way you don’t die, Sir.” Under his bed, James keeps a box filled with the detonator switches from every IED that he has ever disarmed. James preserves those pieces because he is fascinated with things that almost killed him. When one day SPC Eldridge peers into James’ box and pulls out a necklace with a wedding ring on it, Eldridge asks what the ring was doing in the box. James replies, “Like I said: things that almost killed me.”

A setback in the movie is when SPC Eldridge is accidentally shot by SSG James while chasing down a group of insurgents who had detonated an IED under an M1A2 Abrams tank. The team seemed to have been falling apart with only a few days remaining in their rotation in Iraq when this occurred. Luckily, however, in spite of all of the challenges and risks, they all make it back alive.

While at home with his wife and son, SSG James cannot seem to adjust to life without war. While playing with his infant son, James explains to him that as one gets older, there are fewer activities in life one really enjoys, and that it may be only one or two things that give true satisfaction. The movie ended with a scene of SSG James stepping off a helicopter after it landed in Iraq. 365 days until the end of his next rotation. I don’t know what message that gives to a son, war being more important and satisfying than family, but fortunately his son was an infant and could not see that his father was more satisfied fighting than being at home. It seemed as if SSG James was destined to be a military man.

Before I saw the movie, I thought it would be merely a war movie with a lot of action and little or no plot. I was surprised by the storyline and really enjoyed the movie as it examined the war’s effect on each of the main character’s personality. The audience is able to truly get to know the characters and understand what it is each is going through without having to actually be there. I have seen the movie several times already, and I enjoy watching it every time.

ACTs and More Tests

As most everyone who knows me well is aware, I am in the process of reapplying to West Point. I do not intend to write about the various aspects of this process each week, but it’s just been all consuming in some ways the past few weeks. I completed my nomination packets just before leaving for college, which took a lot of work, but have had to continue to work on this application process since arriving at Tech, such as the Candidate Fitness Assessment I wrote about earlier, and communicating with and coordinating other people’s roles in the process, like my high school counselor, my local Liaison Officer, and the USMA South Eastern Regional Representative (MAJ Tolman). Because any improvement in my combined applicant score would boost my standing in the appointment process, I had hoped to retake the ACT test this fall. I did very well on the ACT last year, scoring in the 90th percentile, but after discussing every possible way of improving my combined applicant score with MAJ Tolman earlier this summer, I decided that I would re-take the ACT again this fall at Tech. Unfortunately, the nearest test location is at a high school in Roanoke, approximately 50 miles away by bus and would also involve walking or a taxi to get to the test site. (Even then, public transportation gets me to the Roanoke bus station after the start of the test time.)

Virginia Tech is not a registered ACT testing center. The ACT Arranged Testing Office requires that a list of conditions be met before allowing one to take an ACT test at a location that had not previously been approved as a certified testing center. Individuals may arrange a special test session if their religious faith prohibits them from taking a Saturday test, if they reside in countries where there is no certified testing center, if they are confined to a hospital, or if they do not have a testing center within 50 miles of their current location. If approved, the special testing arrangement would also have to be scheduled during an ACT testing window.

Dr. Brandon Phillips, the Arranged Testing Supervisor at the Counseling Center here at Virginia Tech, agreed to proctor the test if it was approved by the ACT. Before classes started, I drafted a letter to the ACT explaining my transportation issues, filled out their forms, and met with Dr. Phillips to get all of the paperwork completed and signed. Dr. Phillips had to certify that his testing center met all of the ACT requirements, such as the proctor being fluent in English, having experience giving similar tests, being a staff member of the institution where the test would be given, having access to a safe to securely store the testing materials, and agreeing to proctor the test. Dr. Phillips completed his part of the forms and signed everything, agreeing to the conditions. I mailed the packet with a check for the registration fee and waited.

Just yesterday, I received an email from Dr. Phillips informing me that the ACT Arranged Testing Office had contacted him to say that they had denied my request to take the ACT test at Virginia Tech. They stated that my request did not meet their requirement that I was over 50 miles from a registered testing center. Dr. Phillips checked MapQuest and said that a direct route indicated that Blacksburg is only 40 miles from Roanoke. Unfortunately, even if public transportation was an option (it is not because it would get me to the Roanoke bus station after the test begins), the ACT must have ignored my letter. I feel that a reasonable person would understand that by taking a bus route, the route is longer than a direct route by car, and then walking or taking a taxi to the high school where the test would be given adds miles to the distance traveled.

I am disappointed that I will not be able to retake the ACTs, but I am becoming more and more relieved now, mostly because of the amount of work I have been assigned from my other classes. In the next two weeks, I have four major tests. Most of the tests should go well because I am already reading the material and studying for them, but something like Chemistry, I could use the extra time preparing for. (I took an accelerated math and science program in high school so I have not had Chemistry for three years, making the material almost foreign to me. I mostly dislike having to name elements from their given formulas and getting the formula from the given names.) I am looking forward to taking the other tests, though. I have to take my Linear Algebra test by the Monday evening deadline, and I also have a big Calculus test later in the week. I have been scoring well on all of my linear algebra quizzes so far and took AP Calculus in high school and really understand the material, so I am confident that I won’t have any problems on either of those tests. A week from now, I have my Engineering Exploration test, which I have also begun studying for. Engineering exploration is the “weed out” course for engineering students, so there is a lot of pressure to do very well in that class.

These next two weeks and after will be very busy, and with the extra time I intend to spend on Chemistry and Engineering Exploration, it is probably a good thing that the ACT Arranged Testing Office denied my request. Never mind that I am not familiar with Roanoke and that this would have been my first trip using public transportation, really increasing the chance that I would not arrive on time even if the buses from Blacksburg began their routes earlier than they do on Saturdays. I guess there is a chance too that had ACT approved my request and the bus schedule ran earlier, I could have still been late to the test since I am not familiar with public transportation or Roanoke. That would have been horrible to put time, money and effort into retaking the ACT and then missing the test, costing me sleep and half a Saturday study time as well. Instead, I will think positive and assume that this denial is for the best and will focus on my grades now instead of worrying about retaking a test that I already have decent scores on. Doing well on these tests will be very satisfying, and I intend to give it my full effort.

My Candidate Fitness Assessment Success

Last Tuesday (Sept. 1), I completed an impressive 16 pull ups, threw a basketball 88 feet from my knees, ran a 7.2 second shuttle run, cranked out 82 pushups and 96 sit ups, and ran a 6:41 minute mile, all in only 30 minutes. This was my third time taking the Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA) for West Point, which has been my goal for my undergraduate engineering degree and commissioning source since I was a young child. I reached the maximum scores on several of the events last Tuesday, just falling short of a perfect 100 point score. Fortunately, the lack of sleep due to a 3:00 a.m. dorm fire alarm and an 8:00 a.m. Chemistry Lab did not slow me down as I had feared. My adrenalin was pumping, and I was going to pull this off.

I am extremely pleased with my most recent CFA scores, and quite relieved. I would have preferred another month to train, but with the possibility of the Swine Flu hitting campus and getting sick and loosing the conditioning I had worked so hard for all summer, I decided that the sooner I took the CFA, the better. New to college, acclimating to a different schedule, and lacking sleep, I had not imagined that I would be able to do as well as I had done this past week.

My first CFA was not so satisfying. Almost a year ago, I took the test for the first time at my local high school, not doing as well as I had anticipated. I had trained for that test and had been confident that I would be able to score well on the pushups, sit ups, and the shuttle run; however, I was not as confident about the remaining events, especially the mile run. I had never been much of a runner, always competing in sports reliant on upper body strength, such as shot put and discus, and power lifting. That day, I struggled through the mile, the last event of the assessment. Already exhausted from the previous five events and pushing myself hard, I tried to keep a pace but poor conditions outside made breathing difficult and half way through the run, began to lose speed. I only managed an 8:30 minute mile, 30 seconds short of the passing score. My tester submitted my scores on-line and I went home that day discouraged, my dream lost. Imagine my shock when I received a letter from the West Point Admissions Board not much later saying that they were going to allow me to retake the CFA. Because my overall average score was so high due to the other tests, the Admissions Board wanted to give me a second chance! This is almost unheard of. My high school A.P. Physics teacher, a West Point graduate, said as much. I consulted my school’s track coaches and teachers who had experience running for suggestions and trained hard for one month, and then retook the assessment. Several of my scores improved some with this added training, but most importantly, I ran a 7:13 minute mile. The people I had consulted said that shaving that much time off of my run in so short a time was excellent improvement. It had also been my best mile time until last Tuesday.

West Point expects that the officers it produces be top notch leaders in order to gain the respect of their men; therefore, three components are examined for admission, and they are: leadership, academics, and fitness. On a trip last November to meet with a West Point Admissions Officer, I was told that I way exceeded the leadership requirements and that my academics were strong. Because I had officially passed the CFA at this point, I thought everything was fine. For athletes, the CFA is extremely important and weighs the most in a candidate’s file, more so than leadership and academics. For all candidates, it is the initial test to make sure that one will be able to keep up with the physical rigors of the Academy. Most all candidates are required to have participated in sports throughout their high school career even if they were not star athletes, which is where I fell, and their overall athletic score is almost solely based on the candidate’s CFA score. One thing I heard from the start and then repeatedly throughout the application process was to “Score well on the CFA; Start practicing now.” This message is prominent on the West Point web site, and was repeated at college fairs where USMA representatives were present, and stressed by the elected officials’ academy nomination representatives. Obviously, not passing the CFA the first try last year had hurt my overall candidate score. It looked hopeful that I would receive an Appointment this past spring, and I was one of the later candidates to be rejected for the class of 2013. Knowing that I am beginning the reapplication process with such a good set of scores is inspiring.

Meeting a rigorous set of fitness standards for admission is only the beginning of what will be expected of me should I receive an appointment to West Point this year. Every 6 months, cadets take the Army Physical Fitness Test (more commonly referred to as the APFT), which consists of pushups, sit ups, and a 2 mile run. The APFT is also given to Army personnel every 12 months. If a cadet or a member of the Army is not able to pass the APFT, there are consequences. If a cadet does not pass these tests, he/she is given three attempts, each attempt after the first weighing heavily on their Military Point Average (MPA), the “GPA” for military achievement. If a passing score is not met after the third attempt, they are dismissed from the Academy. Army personnel can be relieved of duty and essentially removed from service if they do not meet APFT requirements. Fitness is compulsory in the Army and has become an important part of my life as well, just like academics and service to the community.

While a student at Virginia Tech, I plan on staying active in athletics by participating in a couple of student organization sports, which should enhance my own fitness regimen. I will soon begin training with the boxing team and will also be training in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), another student organization here at Tech. I will remain fit and anticipate that through discipline and active sports participation throughout the year, passing fitness tests will become routine. General Douglas MacArthur, when he was Superintendent at West Point, started the rigorous athletic program because he believed that officers needed to be physically fit. He said about fitness through the West Point intramural program, that “On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seed that on other days and other fields will bear the fruits of victory.”

Sam Wendler: Soccer Star, Engineer, or both?

Most everyone can remember a high school slacker, intent on having a good time at the expense of academics or future goals. Well, that is not Samuel (Sam) Wendler, first year engineering student here at Virginia Tech who is from Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, which is not far from the Pennsylvania – Maryland border, approximately 50 miles north of Baltimore. Sam is hard working and he has both small town and metropolitan qualities, which make him an easy person to like.

Glen Rock is a borough of York County and has a total area of less than a square mile, with 800 households and a population of 1,800. Sam is originally from West Chester, Pennsylvania, which is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (about 25 miles west of the city), so Sam has experienced both suburban and rural life, which is neat. West Chester is less than 2 square miles in total, but has almost 20,000 people and over 6,000 households. Experiencing two dissimilar locales may be one reason why Sam interacts so well with all types of people. Sam describes himself as generally being very friendly and outgoing as he strives to be friendly with everyone he encounters, but admits that he can be reserved at times. One friend said that Sam is a “funny, goofy guy…who always has good intentions.” Being both outgoing and reserved, having humor, and intending well, can be a huge asset and speaks well of Sam’s character.

In high school, while maintaining high grades, Sam also played soccer and worked at a fry stand. Sam’s friend proudly reported that Sam is famous for scoring the winning goal in the state final for his soccer team. Sam plans to play intramural soccer at Tech his second semester, but will trade the service industry for the engineering field. When exploring college opportunities, Sam sought a top ranked engineering school. Because Virginia Tech is known throughout the nation and was ranked the 14th best undergraduate engineering program in the United States by U.S. News and World Report (shared with Texas A&M), Sam was interested. Sam commented that Tech is “a good engineering school” and that he had “never heard anyone complain about the school.” Virginia Tech’s Dean of Engineering stated, “Our rank of 14th puts us squarely among the finest engineering colleges in the nation, and speaks to the notice we’re receiving for our innovative work as educators.” With its fourteen undergraduate Bachelor of Science degrees, Virginia Tech Engineering is all inclusive, and Sam reported that the decision to choose Tech was easy.

Sam plans to major in Mechanical Engineering, which is directly related to his future goal of being a CAD (Computer Aided Design) drafter. Computer Aided Design is a form of geometric designing used by engineers to develop models, on a computer, of what they are trying to build. CAD programs can be used to design anything from building structures to car engines and even can be used in the design and planning of technical manuals. The CAD software is also used in a support role for other engineering disciplines and is fundamental to any project’s development, as CAD is used not only to design the structure, but also to analyze and test the structure before its construction, and how to best implement the building of the structure.

With a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Sam’s possibilities are endless for the types of design he can do as a CAD drafter. And the job opportunities for CAD drafters is expected to at least keep pace with average job growth until 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. As the economy improves, job demand will grow, as it will also do with the rising demand for new and upgraded products. In 2006, there were about 253,000 jobs nationally for drafters, of which 31% were mechanical drafters. Coming from such a highly rated Engineering School, Sam should have no trouble reaching his career goals.