McCarthy introduces 7 students on way to US service academies
May 31—The seven young men and women from the 23rd Congressional District who will take off for U.S. service academies in the next month were introduced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Memorial Day.
"The kids behind us are making a commitment," McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, said Monday outside the Bakersfield Association of Realtors office, as the students stood by him during brief introductions.
On a day dedicated to remembering those who gave their lives in service to their country, the House Republican leader noted that these students, who endured a rigorous vetting process and were ultimately nominated and then selected by the academies, do not know if they will serve their country during peacetime or a time of conflict.
Yet they have made a decision to serve, as they are committing to a minimum of five years in the armed forces after graduation.
McCarthy said the students will receive the best education the nation has to offer — and they will have to put their minds, bodies and souls into everything they do.
"This is our next generation," he said.
Those introduced Monday are: Michelle Sosa, who will attend the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis; Joseph Soliz-Martinez, who will attend the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; Kara McCormick, U.S. Air Force Academy; Samuel Quick, U.S. Air Force Academy; Nicholas Carson, U.S. Air Force Academy; Cole Gaines, U.S. Military Academy at West Point; and Jaden Beauchamp, U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
"This is the beginning of a great adventure," Cam Martin, who chaired the committee that vetted the 23rd Congressional District applicants, told the students. Martin served in the Navy for 10 years, he said, and his son and daughter went to academies in the years before he joined the committee.
Some of the students described what it was like to find out they had been accepted to their respective academies.
It was a "very memorable day," said Beauchamp, of Tehachapi, who added the first person he told was his dad, who was "yelling at the top of his lungs."
Soliz-Martinez, of Lancaster, said he received a packet in the mail informing him of his selection, and first told his mom, who was "just ecstatic."
