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Schools

3 see college as service opportunity

These young people think of college as more of an adventure. Each hopes to enter a service academy.

By HELEN ANNE TRAVIS
Published February 12, 2006

Thirteen high school seniors and recent graduates received nominations from U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa, to attend a military service academy in the fall.

This is the first and most difficult step in the application process, which includes a series of physical tests and intense interviews. Then, if they succeed, comes four years of military training.

With the war in Iraq nearing its third year and tensions rising in Iran, many high school students would not consider going into the military.

But these three students are eager to sign up. We talked to them about why they want to serve, despite the dangers of war.

Alonso High School

Growing up in Town 'N Country, Kayla Beach always knew she wanted to be in the military. As a child, she spent time at MacDill Air Force Base. In December, she attended a one-week boot camp program at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Fla.

"People were constantly in your face yelling at you," she said. "I liked it."

While some of her peers are deciding whether to go to the University of South Florida or Florida State, Beach, 17, faces a different decision. Should she attend the Air Force Academy, West Point or the Naval Academy?

"My friends think I'm crazy," she said.

At Alonso, Beach takes all honors and advanced placement classes and boasts a 4.9 grade point average. She is the president of her school's Key Club, the vice president of her National Honor Society chapter and the captain of the swim team.

In her spare time, she tutors middle school students and participates in the Civil Air Patrol.

The Civil Air Patrol provided her the opportunity to help pilot a plane, her real passion.

"I've always wanted to be a pilot," she said.

Beach's mother works at Tampa International Airport, and the family takes advantage of the free and reduced-price flights employees receive. Beach has traveled to China, Morocco and most of Europe. She spent two weeks in the Philippines working with Habitat for Humanity and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Her service work in the Philippines reinforced her decision to go into the military, she said. When Beach saw the conditions some people were living in, she felt even more of a need to defend the freedoms and comforts of America, she said.

"It's like you're watching TV," Beach said of the deplorable living conditions she witnessed on her trip.

Though Beach speaks with joy of the discipline, challenge and rigors of the military, she acknowledged that the thought of war scared her.

"But I feel that if I go to one of the military academies, they will fully prepare me for war," she said. "That's the best training in the world you can receive. I'll do whatever my country needs of me."

Riverview High School

One day Maurizio Garcia will run for president of the United States. For now, he just has to finish high school.

Garcia, 17, a Riverview High School senior, wants to go to either West Point or the U.S. Air Force Academy in the fall.

"Since a young age I wanted to serve my country and get the top education I knew a military academy would offer," Garcia said.

He began looking into the academies as a sixth-grader. As a freshman, the Air Force Academy invited him for a campus tour. He liked the unity and tradition he witnessed during his day with the cadets.

Garcia's mom also feels more secure with him going to a military academy as opposed to a state university, he said. With the controlled conditions, she won't have to worry about her son driving drunk or partying too much.

"I'm not going to have the whole college scene; it will be a lot more strict," Garcia said. "That's a small price to pay to become something great in life."

Garcia said he understands that after graduation from an academy, it will be his obligation to obey the commander in chief, no matter what.

"It's a risk I am willing to take," Garcia said.

One day, he hopes to be the commander in chief. Concerned with immigration and the racial jokes he witnesses in the media, Garcia said as president he wants to improve the image of Hispanics in America.

"Many people believe we are just here to do janitorial work," he said.

For now, Garcia is biding his time playing tenor saxophone and participating in his school's National Honor Society. In April, he will find out which academy will open its doors to the young presidential hopeful.

Garcia said he's leaning toward the Air Force Academy. If he goes there, he wants to study aerospace engineering, the best program at the academy, he said.

However, he's also open to West Point. There he would study history, his strongest subject in school.

"I feel you need to learn about the past to be a success in the future," he said.

It also doesn't hurt his presidential aspirations that Presidents Eisenhower and Grant both graduated from West Point.

Plant High School

Carlton Hobkirk earned his scuba license when he was 12. He has been white-water rafting, snowboarding and rock climbing. He was even cornered by a 10-foot reef shark with nothing but a scuba tank to protect him.

"Yeah, I'm pretty adventurous," Hobkirk said.

The 17-year-old Plant High School senior has even more adventures ahead of him. He was recently nominated to attend the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island, New York.

Growing up in Hillsborough County, Hobkirk took advantage of every opportunity to be on the water.

He sailed with a family friend to New Orleans and Key West. His parents took him sailing off Florida's east coast. Every family vacation involved water. It seemed natural that he should pursue a career involving his passion.

Hobkirk looked into the state universities. He considered West Point and the Naval Academy, but he said he was excited about the wide range of possibilities available after he graduates from the Merchant Marine Academy.

"I can go into the Navy, or I could fly rescue helicopters," Hobkirk said. "Or I could be the captain of a ship!"

It's also a bonus that he will be able to surf off Long Island, which according to surfersinfo.com has the "best waves in the Northeast."

An e-mail from a friend already in the Merchant Marine Academy sealed the deal for him, Hobkirk said. The friend described the exotic ports of call he visited sailing around the Mediterranean.

"I mean, what other college will you go to that will pay you to sail around the Mediterranean?" Hobkirk asked.

Visiting interesting locations and spending time on the water will be perks to Hobkirk. But he said it will be scary if he has to walk the streets of Baghdad after he graduates.

"I'm not really big on the war," Hobkirk said. "But I think something needed to be done after Sept. 11."

- Helen Anne Travis can be reached at 661-2439 or htravis@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 11, 2006, 10:43:05]