NAHS graduate to attend U.S. Naval Academy

Jun. 21—NEW ALBANY — For the past several years, Chelsie Glover has been striving toward her goal of attending the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, and her hard work paid off as she received the prestigious honor of being accepted into the school.

Glover, a 2022 graduate of New Albany High School, is preparing for her next steps as an incoming student to the academy. The 18-year-old went through an extensive application process, and she received an appointment to the academy earlier this year.

Before starting at the academy in Annapolis, she will first attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island for 10 months, which will prepare her for the academy's "rigorous course load and environment." She will begin at the preparatory school July 26, and she will begin at the Naval Academy in June of 2023.

"I feel like I truly am blessed with this opportunity," Glover said. "I'm set up for college — I don't have to pay for college. My laptops are provided. Uniforms are provided. I get paid while I'm in college all while receiving an education and receiving my degree. It's truly an honor."

Glover's involvement with the JROTC program at NAHS has inspired her to pursue the military. She has been interested in the academy throughout high school, and in her junior year, she began the application process.

"When I went into ROTC, my instructor explained all of the different career opportunities that come with the military, and the Naval Academy was one of them, so that's where I learned more about it and became really interested in it," she said.

Mike Cluver, senior naval science instructor for the NAHS JROTC program, said Glover has a "tireless" work ethic. It is a "tremendous honor" to be accepted into the Naval Academy, and he "couldn't be prouder."

"Whether it is orchestra, JROTC or helping out the community, she really puts a lot out there," he said.

When she visited the Naval Academy in October of 2021, Glover liked the environment of the school, she said.

"Everyone was super nice," she said. "I like the structure of the schooling, the classes, wearing the uniforms every day — I thought it was just really cool, and it's just a good opportunity to get a really good education and have a secure job once I graduate from there."

To apply for a federal service academy, Glover had to receive numerous recommendation letters from teachers, coaches and mentors, and she received a nomination from U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth.

Her acceptance into the academy also required a strong academic performance, including strong test scores, good grades and dual credit/AP classes. In addition to her service with the JROTC, she emphasized her community service and involvement in extracurricular activities.

Glover has served as commanding officer of the NAHS JROTC program throughout her senior year, and she has participated in the JROTC rifle team. She also competed in various national and regional competitions through the program.

"The academy obviously looks for a lot of leadership positions to make sure you're fit to be an officer," she said.

Cluver said Glover has helped the JROTC team succeed under her leadership, and the NAHS program was named the top NJROTC unit in a 12-state region in the 2021-22 school year.

Glover was also a bassist for the Floyd County Youth Symphony for about six years before moving to the Louisville Youth Orchestra for two years.

A normal college application might take a day or two to fill out, but the Naval Academy application took six months to complete, and she had to get a variety of medical examinations throughout the process, Glover said.

"It's pretty robust," she said.

Although she applied for other colleges, she spent most of her time and energy applying for the Naval Academy, Glover said. She had a "gut feeling" that it was going to work out with the academy, which accepts less than 10% of those who apply.

"They say not to put all of your eggs in one basket for choosing a college, but that's what I did," she said. "I got lucky, and it really paid off. I didn't have a clue whether I was going to get in or not, because it's a hit or miss, since the acceptance rate is so low. I just went for it."

The application to the academy was due Jan. 31. She had "barely finished" the application when she learned about her appointment to the school, she said.

"I remember the day the application was due, I had just finished part of my application the day before, so I got on the computer on Jan. 31 to find someone's email (on the admissions page), and when I was looking to find that email, it already said I had gotten accepted, and I was given a letter of appointment," she said.

"That doesn't happen a lot getting it so early — they usually send out the appointments between March and May," she said. "To see that they were already looking at my application and already make decisions — that says a lot, and I'm really grateful for it."

Glover was shocked when she learned she was accepted, she said.

"The first thing I did was I started to cry, but then I called my mom," she said.

She has received "endless support" from family and friends.

"I'm going to be really far away for college, and I'll only be home maybe two or three times a year, but I think they're all very supportive in what I want to do and how I want to pursue my career," Glover said.

As she looks ahead, she is excited to meet fellow students at the Naval Academy, and she is already part of a group chat with people who will be attending.

"I'm really excited to meet all of them, because I've always heard that at the academy, you'll meet your lifelong friends there, and you'll have a lot of really strong bonds there," Glover said. "I'm definitely excited about that, because the academy is going to be really tough, especially with the work ethic, the exercising, so having those bonds with all of your friends will really help you get through all of it."