SCV sudents surpass quota for academies

Congressman Seve Knight announces 7 Santa Clarita Valley high school grads to attend military institutes

Rep. Steve Knight, R-Palmdale, nominated seven Santa Clarita Valley students for U.S. military academies, his office announced Tuesday.

Each year, members of Congress can nominate high school seniors for spots at the country’s four U.S. service academies: the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

This year, the graduates selected were: Robert Hall III from Canyon High School; William Umpaiboon from West Ranch High School; London Aghedo from Hart High School; Amanda Yeam from Canyon High School; Peyton Sims from Canyon High School; Joshua Kim from West Ranch High School; and Jennifer Shin from Valencia High School.

They were honored in an event at Antelope Valley College on Saturday.

“One of the great honors I have while representing the 25th Congressional District is being able to nominate our best and brightest men and women for the service academies,” Knight said. “Each appointee represents the best of their class, and I have no doubt they will do our community proud at the academies and throughout their careers.”

The process for selection takes a year, said Isaac Barcelona, Knight’s congressional district liaison officer.

For the 25th Congressional District, Knight can nominate up to 10 individuals from his district for the four vacant academy slots. Every congressional representative is usually allotted one slot, but the academies may select more candidates from one district if they so choose.

“We turn out to be the exception to the rule because we are placing more qualified, good candidates than our minimum allotted,” Barcelona said.

The graduates selected get “fully qualified appointments” from the academies, which means they auto-qualify to spend four years in the academy. Other non-fully qualified appointments would undergo a year’s assessments before deciding if they can continue, Barcelona said.

Students interested in this post-graduate school should begin thinking about it by 8th or 9th grade, he said, and contact the congressional office with their interest by the end of junior year.

Seniors submit their applications by the end of October for consideration.

“Academies aren’t just looking for kids with good grades,” he said. “They’re looking for ‘the whole person,’ and that includes kids that have been involved with STEM programs, kids that are athletes, kids that are involved in the community, whether it be church, Boy Scouts, Eagle Scouts... kids that have shown leadership qualities. Then they consider all of those things and they select the best of the best.”

Barcelona said the congressional nominations are first in the vetting process. No candidate is considered for an appointment by an academy unless they first obtain a congressional nomination.

“Since 1973, when our military became an all-volunteer force, we have relied on the selflessness of brave young people to defend our nation,” Knight said. “Throughout my tenure in Congress, we’ve had a lot of success getting appointments for our local candidates, and this year is no exception.”

On Sept. 15, there will be an “Academy Info Day” at College of the Canyons from 10 a.m. to noon for interested applicants.