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First students since 2004 to enter the prestigious Military Academy
It’s been seven years since a student from Oceanside High School was accepted to the Military Academy at West Point, one of the most prestigious schools in the country. And with good reason — the academy only accepts about 1,200 students a year.
This year, however, two OHS seniors — Cindy Guerrero and Christopher Hughes — were admitted to the school.
“It’s always been my dream, pretty much,” said Hughes, who will be attending West Point’s preparatory school for a year before he begins his training at the actual academy. “I was always one of those kids who was playing Army in the yard.”
Guerrero will start her first year at the academy this summer. On June 27, in fact — she’ll be missing her prom.
“I want to be a pre-med student and go onto medical school. And the military paying for that was, above all, one of the biggest incentives,” she said. “And knowing that I’ll be contributing back to my country and our future was something that really appealed to me.”
Guerrero’s interest was sparked after an Army Experience ride she went on with her father at a Six Flags theme park. Afterwards, she started looking at some of the recruitment material that was available, which is when she learned that her father, Luis, had spent a year at the Air Force Academy. It inspired her to apply for West Point.
Students at West Point attend four years of college like normal students, but their education is supplemented with physical training. Upon graduation, students are commissioned officers in the Army with the rank of Second Lieutenant. They have five years of active military service, followed by three years as reserve officers if they choose not to make a career out of their service.
As a medical student, Guerrero will have the Army pay for her education — she can attend any civilian medical school she is accepted to — but then has to give ten years of active service after her graduation from med school, followed by four years of reserve status.
But as students at the academy, Guerrero and Hughes will receive a salary of about $7,000 a year. And once they graduate, that jumps to $50,000.
