May 18, 2006: Norton Nominations to Service Academies Include First Two Charter School Graduates

Norton Nominations to Service Academies
Include First Two Charter School Graduates
May 18, 2006

Washington, DC—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) congratulated five students who have received appointments to attend U.S. service academies at her College Access and Service Academy Night last night. They include the first two D.C. public charter school graduates nominated by Norton to receive appointments: Dallas White of the Washington Math Science Technology High School, and Diana McVay of IDEA High School.

A highlight of last night’s program was a speech by White, a Ward 7 resident, who was the highest ranking cadet for the entire Washington D.C. Cadet Corp of the Junior ROTC. He maintained a 3.7 grade point average through out his schooling. White’s educational excellence and talents helped him receive appointments to both the U.S. Naval and Air Force Academies. The student said that it was a tough decision, but he has decided to attend the Naval Academy (USNA). White’s goal is to become a military pilot.

In addition to White, the Congresswoman praised the following students who received service academy appointments upon her nomination: Diana McVay is a resident of Ward 8 and has received an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School; Garth Thomas of Ward 5, who graduated from Carroll High School and received an appointment to the USNA; Joseph Comiskey, a Ward 3 resident who graduated from Landon High School and also is headed to USNA; and Emmanuel Gfoeller-Volkoff of Ward 3, a graduate of the American School in Switzerland, who studied at Gonzaga High School and received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy.

Norton encourages D.C. junior and senior high school students and their parents and guardians to attend the annual event to learn about the process and requirements for service academy appointments, Norton’s D.C. College Access Act, and other federal tuition assistance programs.

Each year the Congresswoman has nominated increasingly greater numbers of D.C. students to the service academies through vigorous outreach by her office and her Service Academy Selection Board, chaired by Cdr. Kerwin Miller, who is also Executive Director of the D.C. Office of Veterans Affairs, and a graduate of the Naval Academy. Last night, Miller presented the Congresswoman with an autographed copy of Breaking the Color Barrier, the biography of Wesley Brown, the first African American to graduate from the Naval Academy in 1949. Brown, a graduate of Dunbar High School, is Chairperson Emeritus of Norton’s Selection Board. Other members of the Board are: Dorenda Canty, Lt. Cdr. Carol Holland, Ernest Jolly, O. V. Johnson, Daniel Kerns, George Keys, Charles B. King, III, Riaz K. Latifullah, Col. Jonathan Mark, Sabrina McNeal, Antonio Montes, Barbara Smith, and James Walker.

Students and parents can learn more about the service academy process, the D.C. College Access Program and other college assistance by calling Norton’s District Office at 783-5865 or by going to www.norton.house.gov.

Representatives of the U.S. Military, Naval, Merchant Marine, and Air Force Academies, the U.S. Department of Education, the D.C. State Education Office, the D.C. College Access Program, and the D.C. College Savings "529" Program were on hand to provide information and answer parents’ and students’ questions.