Albritton Student off to West Point
Although teachers usually frown upon students missing class, Albritton educators are cheering for Ava R. Ava will spend the next week at the United States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York, where she will live as a military recruit and learn science, technology, engineering, and math skills at the 2024 West Point Summer STEM Workshop for middle school students.
Founded in 1778, West Point is the oldest continuously open Garrison Military Post in the United States. Ava said she was really happy when she received her acceptance letter to the summer workshop, but she was also “surprised to be chosen out of a lot of people.” Ava, who is an honor roll student and athlete at Albritton, will be attending the STEM workshop with a cohort of 120 middle school students. She explained why she applied to the program, “I like summer camp; it sounds like fun, and it’s good to put on resumes, so it’s win-win!” The USMA STEM Workshop is run by the Center for Leadership and Diversity in STEM. According to materials provided for participants, they plan to have “Cadet and Faculty led modules across a wide range of academic disciplines including Data Analytics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Psychology, Environmental Science, Civil and Mechanical Engineering, and Chemistry and Life Science.”
As a military child, Ava has spent much of her life on military bases. She has also been on other college campuses for honors choir, but not overnight, and West Point is a bigger campus, according to Ava. She continued, “Plus, it will be interesting to do similar things to West Point students who must be really smart and dedicated to commit to five years in the military to go there.” In exchange for free tuition, West Point Cadets commit to serving five years active duty and three years reserve. Ava is even looking forward to the two hours of mandatory physical training she will experience daily during the camp. “I hope we run a lot,” the Albritton track and soccer player explains, “I love running!”
Ava admitted she doesn’t know enough to be nervous about attending the camp, even though it is several states away from home. The only aspect of the West Point STEM Camp that doesn’t excite Ava is the color of her team’s shirts. “I’m in the White Platoon,” she clarified, “which means we wear white T-shirts and khaki pants or shorts as our uniform for the week. Of all the colors, why did we have to get white? It’s so plain.”
Ava, who was recently elected to the vice president position for the Nellie McCoy Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society for the 2024-2025 school year, has a lot of diverse interests. She took so many photos on a recent study trip to the North Carolina Museum of Art that she couldn’t pick just one as her favorite. She isn’t sure what career she will choose in the future. “I like the idea of saving the environment,” she said, “so I am thinking about environmental science or something with animals or maybe being a nurse.”
Ava feels the STEM Workshop will be a fantastic opportunity for her. She is excited for a diverse STEM experience because, in her words, “I like science and engineering, and I enjoy learning.” The Bulldog family would like to wish Ava good luck this week. We look forward to hearing about her experiences at West Point.
