Kambria Kyle accepted into West Point
Kambria Kyle (in the West Point hoodie) is pictured with her fellow Northern Garrett JROTC members.
Northern Garrett senior Kambria Kyle announced her post-high school plans to pursue officer training at West Point — one of the most prestigious military service colleges in the country.
Northern Garrett Cadet LTC Kambria Kyle (left) is pictured with Army Iraq War veteran Sgt. Tami Ramos after Friday’s ceremony.
ACCIDENT — There is no such thing as a path too difficult for Kambria Kyle.
Following a rigorous multi-year process of preparation, Northern Garrett High School senior has been accepted into the prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
A ceremony was held in her honor on Friday afternoon as she officially made her choice to attend West Point in front of local dignitaries, her friends, family and fellow Northern JROTC members.
She had also been offered four-year full-ride scholarships to Citadel, VMI and Norwich University.
“Major [Steve Hershfeldt] really introduced me to West Point, and I knew that I wanted to go to the Army, so West Point was the logical choice,” Kyle said. “Last year, I got the opportunity to visit the different service academies, and it was just this feeling that I can’t describe. The Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy were great places to be, but when I was at West Point, I felt like I was at home and that it was where I was meant to be. I didn’t have that feeling anywhere else.”
During her time spent with Northern JROTC as well as Major Hershfeldt, she said that she kept getting closer to “who she was meant to be.” It also wasn’t lost on her the opportunity that she had to represent the tight-knit Garrett County community.
“When these kinds of opportunities come up, so many people are always checking in on me to see how things are progressing, and you just get so much support,” Kyle said. “There have been people that aren’t here [at the ceremony] today or who hardly know me, but they know what I have been trying to do and even they’ve reached out to say that anything they can do to help, they’re willing to do.”
To say that the road to achieve this was difficult, would be an understatement. Major Hershfeldt revealed a checklist of what it would take for a local student to even get a foot in the door to potentially be accepted into one of the prestigious service academies. The list included:
- Take advanced STEM classes
- Earn multiple letters in multiple varsity sports
- Leadership roles, such as a Student Council President
- Boys/Girls State Graduate
- SAT above 1300
- Summer Leadership Program (Military Academy Invites)
- JROTC Leadership — BN Commander
- Physically fit — “Scholar Athlete Concept”
He also noted that even if one were to achieve all of these things, as Kyle did, the high demand would mean that it was still about only a 10% chance of being accepted.
“I think the most difficult thing of all those was finding a way to balance all of it together,” Kyle said. “Looking back, the advanced STEM classes really gave me a run for my money. My one teacher, Ms. Bittinger, who was my AP Chemistry teacher, would tell you that it was difficult to say the least. It was definitely new and it took a lot of work.
“It definitely made me realize that you just half to be able to work for it. You’re not always going to be the top dog, but you have to work for whatever you want. If you put in the work, you’ll be rewarded.”
She reiterated that message when she reflected on future students that may wish to pursue a similar kind of path.
“It’s possible if you put the work in,” she stated. “I think if I showed anything, it’s that when I was a freshman, this was something I could never imagine for myself. I don’t think anyone here would’ve thought I would’ve ended up here either, but I had amazing people willing to support me and they gave me my path, and I was willing to work hard to pursue it.
“If you’re willing to work hard and you’re willing to accept opportunities that life gives you, then anything can happen.”
Editor Trevor King can be reached at 301-334-3963 or by email at tking@therepublicannews.com
