Ten students from Johnson County will take the next step in their careers as they head out to U.S. service academies.
At a send-off event on Tuesday at Corporate Woods Founders Park, Rep. Sharice Davids and several Armed Forces veterans celebrated 13 students — 10 of whom are from Johnson County schools — who Davids appointed to U.S. service academies.
For at least two of those students, Josh Little of Olathe East High School and Sophia Marien-Brovont of Shawnee Mission East High School, who are both going to the United States Military Academy, it’s about serving their country like their relatives did in the Armed Forces.
“My brother’s in the Army right now. My grandpa served. I just always thought that’s what I was going to do,” Little said.
After doing a summer program at the United States Naval Academy, Marien-Brovont said she knew a service academy was the right fit for her.
“I went to West Point and just fell in love with the atmosphere, the people who were there and the connections you make for down the road,” she said.
10 Johnson County students are going to service academies
Those honored at the event include:
- Kaden Allen, from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, who will attend United States Naval Academy Preparatory School
- Zurich Balda, from Blue Valley North High School, who will attend United States Merchant Marine Academy
- Connor Deady, from Rockhurst High School, who will attend United States Military Academy
- Max Doerfler, from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, who will attend United States Military Academy
- James Dykes, from De Soto High School, who will attend United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School
- Laura Hickman, from Mill Valley High School, who will attend United States Air Force Academy
- Addison Holle, from Gardner Edgerton High School, who will attend United States Naval Academy
- Josh Little, from Olathe East High School, who will attend United States Military Academy
- Calum Lynn, from Olathe West High School, who will attend United States Naval Academy
- Sophia Marien-Brovont, from Shawnee Mission East High School, who will attend United States Military Academy
- Hank Newton, from Southern Coffey County High School, who will attend United States Air Force Academy
- Caleb Ochs, from Saint James Academy, who will attend United States Air Force Academy
- Presley Yows, from Louisburg High School, who will attend United States Naval Academy
Students were given advice, encouragement
Four speakers, all Armed Forces veterans, including Davids and her mother, Crystal Herriage, as well as Steven Wallace and Mike Souder, all spoke of the difficulty the students will face, as well as the triumphs they’ll experience when they overcome them.
“You are appointed by a sitting member of Congress to these schools. You’re not appointed because of who your dad was or how much money you haven’t, and you’re appointed based on the character that you demonstrated in the interview process that you went through,” said Wallace, a U.S. Army veteran. “That means that we expect you to do the hard things. We expect you to make hard choices. We expect you to tell the truth and to struggle and wrestle it with when the right time to say it is.”
Going through the first day the students will likely face at the academy, Souder said it will be both difficult to say goodbye to parents, as well as complete some of the challenges they’ll be given.
“When you get there, you’ll immediately be humbled,” he said. “What’s hard for a lot of you who have just been so impressive and have excelled and done so well in everything, for some of you, this might be the first time that you literally just fail, because you will fail a lot on purpose. They’ll make sure you fail and say ‘It’s unfair. It’s not fair.’ And it’s not fair. It’s meant to not be fair.”
Through those struggles, the students will make lifelong connections with their fellow service members and officers, Souder said.
“Trust me, over the period of four years, because everybody’s different, in different spots and different things (where) life happens, you will need (your classmates), and they will need you in different ways, and that’s just the way it goes,” he said.
Acknowledging the journeys that the students have been on to get to this point, such as navigating the difficulties made by the COVID-19 pandemic, Davids said she was encouraged by their dedication.
“You guys really have, at such a young age, already been through some some really historic stuff. And I just think it is admirable and amazing to see that, that through all of those different experiences, that a piece of it is that you want to serve the country,” she said.
Students look forward to path ahead
Despite the challenges ahead described by the speakers, students like Little and Marien-Brovont are excited to continue their families’ legacies in the Armed Forces.
“My grandpa was a Vietnam vet and he passed a couple years ago when I was applying. So unfortunately, he wasn’t able to know that I got accepted,” Little said. “But I know that he would be very proud.”
With his brother deployed overseas, Little said he was happy to tell him the news that he got accepted into the U.S. Military Academy, with his eye on legal studies.
“When I told him that I finally got into the actual Academy, he was really proud of me. So it felt good. He always wanted me to go. It’s nice to make him proud,” he said.
With her mother, Jessica Marien, by her side, Marien-Brovont said she’s excited to start a new path in her life, wanting to focus on a double major in psychology and national affairs, with the goal of becoming psychological operations officer or going into politics.
“It’s been a wonderful process. I’m extremely proud of her,” Marien said of her daughter.
