|
|
|
PITTSBURG —
St. Mary’s Colgan High School students Mariah Klenke and C.J. Russell, who have just completed their junior year, have a full summer ahead of them.
“We are on to attend the Naval Summer Seminar at Annapolis, and I’ll also be attending the Air Force Academy Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs,” Russell said.
Both aspire to attend one of the service academies, and the summer seminars are designed to provide a look at what each has to offer and give a taste of student life.
“The Naval Seminar starts June 9 and runs through June 14,” Klenke said. “We’ll be on the yard all week with leadership orientation and experience the life of a midshipman.”
They will live in Bancroft Hall, the dormitory in which all Naval Academy midshipmen live, and experience a wide variety of activities. Each student is required to also attend eight 90-minute workshops, which are offered on a variety of topics from information technology to oceanography, mathematics, history, meteorology, literature, martial arts, political science and economics.
Russell will attend the Air Force Academy Seminar June 18-22 and experience the life of a USAFA cadet. Students will go to classes taught by the same faculty who instruct cadets and take part in a variety of physical fitness activities.
He said that his first choice would be to attend the Air Force Academy.
“My dad was in the Air Force,” Russell said. “But it would be an honor to serve in either.”
He aspires to become a pilot.
“About 50 percent of the people who go to the academy do become pilots,” Russell said. “I think it would fit my skill set.”
He said that his strengths are in math and science, and possibly go into aerospace engineering.
“At the very least, I could be an engineer for a pilot,” Russell said.
Klenke said that military service is a family tradition.
“My grandparents on both sides served in World War II and I had aunts and uncles in Vietnam and the Cold War,” she said. “My dad was in Desert Storm. My sister Sarah graduated from the Naval Academy in 2010 and she’s now a Navy pilot.”
Unlike Russell and her own sister, Klenke doesn’t plan to fly planes, but thinks of becoming a service warfare officer and is interested in possibly serving aboard a submarine. She plans to major in chemical engineering.
The academy seminars aren’t the only summer activities they have on their schedules.
St. Mary’s Colgan High School students Mariah Klenke and C.J. Russell, who have just completed their junior year, have a full summer ahead of them.
“We are on to attend the Naval Summer Seminar at Annapolis, and I’ll also be attending the Air Force Academy Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs,” Russell said.
Both aspire to attend one of the service academies, and the summer seminars are designed to provide a look at what each has to offer and give a taste of student life.
“The Naval Seminar starts June 9 and runs through June 14,” Klenke said. “We’ll be on the yard all week with leadership orientation and experience the life of a midshipman.”
They will live in Bancroft Hall, the dormitory in which all Naval Academy midshipmen live, and experience a wide variety of activities. Each student is required to also attend eight 90-minute workshops, which are offered on a variety of topics from information technology to oceanography, mathematics, history, meteorology, literature, martial arts, political science and economics.
Russell will attend the Air Force Academy Seminar June 18-22 and experience the life of a USAFA cadet. Students will go to classes taught by the same faculty who instruct cadets and take part in a variety of physical fitness activities.
He said that his first choice would be to attend the Air Force Academy.
“My dad was in the Air Force,” Russell said. “But it would be an honor to serve in either.”
He aspires to become a pilot.
“About 50 percent of the people who go to the academy do become pilots,” Russell said. “I think it would fit my skill set.”
He said that his strengths are in math and science, and possibly go into aerospace engineering.
“At the very least, I could be an engineer for a pilot,” Russell said.
Klenke said that military service is a family tradition.
“My grandparents on both sides served in World War II and I had aunts and uncles in Vietnam and the Cold War,” she said. “My dad was in Desert Storm. My sister Sarah graduated from the Naval Academy in 2010 and she’s now a Navy pilot.”
Unlike Russell and her own sister, Klenke doesn’t plan to fly planes, but thinks of becoming a service warfare officer and is interested in possibly serving aboard a submarine. She plans to major in chemical engineering.
The academy seminars aren’t the only summer activities they have on their schedules.
“I have Boys State from June 3 to June 8,” Russell said. “I’ll leave Manhattan and fly to Annapolis.”
A week after Klenke returns from Annapolis she will be headed to a basketball camp.
“I play basketball at St. Mary’s Colgan, and I’m also on the volleyball team,” she said. “I condition with the swim team in the summer and with the track team in the spring.
Russell plays football, basketball and baseball, conditions for football in the summer and also has some basketball tournaments in the summer.
Both know that physical fitness is one of the things that the service academies look at when choosing students. Discipline and service to others are also considerations, but Russell said that SMC has prepared them well.
“The teachers here have always taught discipline and service to others from an early age,” he said. “I think that’s been a big help in shaping my life. The teachers all know we want to attend the academies, and they help us overcome academic and athletic challenges to give us the best chance to get in.”
“I think the entire faculty of Colgan lives a life of stewardship,” Klenke added. “They would do anything for their students.”
Russell, son of Randy and Lisa Russell, has attended St. Mary’s Colgan Schools from kindergarten on. Klenke, daughter of Mary and Andy Klenke, came to SMC in second grade.
“I’m the newbie in class,” she said.
Both are active in school organizations and have busy senior years ahead of them.
Russell is in National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America and plans to run for class office in the coming year. He’s also a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Knights and RYC.
Klenke has been secretary of the Book Club for the past two years and team captain for the basketball and volleyball teams.
“I’ll be National Honor Society treasurer next year and president of the Student Council,” she said.
Last summer she attended the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar, and both recently attended a Rotary Club camp in Oklahoma.
The two will also be busy in the coming year working on getting into a service academy. Attendance at the summer seminars does not guarantee an academy appointment.
“We’re in the process now of seeking nominations from Sen. Jerry Moran, Sen. Pat Roberts and Rep. Lynn Jenkins,” Klenke said.
They say that, in addition to the school, the community, including the Pittsburg Family YMCA, has been supportive in their efforts to help them prepare for a possible academy appointment.
“Just the honor of representing the school, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, the Pittsburg community and our families is what drives us,” Russell said.
