PITTSFIELD, Maine — Forty-two Maine high school seniors hoping for a chance to serve their country have been nominated to U.S. military academies by members of Maine's congressional delegation.
"Definitely super excited," Boothbay Region High School senior Glory Blethen tells NEWS CENTER Maine.
Glory's been accepted to both the United States Merchant Marine Academy (known as USMMA or Kings Point) in Nassau County, New York, and the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) in New London, Connecticut.
“After school I looked at my phone and I was like, ‘Washington D.C.? This is so weird,’ and it was actually Sen. Susan Collins who called me,” Glory says, recalling the moment she was accepted into the academies.
“I was nominated to the Air Force Academy by Susan Collins and [U.S. Sen.] Angus King and then I was nominated to the Naval Academy by Collins and [U.S. Rep. Jared Golden],” says Maine Central Institute senior Emelyn Hatch.
Emelyn and Glory say they want to go to the academies because of their passion to serve their country.
“We have a form that we fill out that we have all the different characteristics that we’re looking for," says David Patch, who sits on U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree's academy nomination committee. He helps suggest to the congresswoman which candidates should be nominated.
Patch said that by being on the committee, he's realized Maine and the whole country has a special group of kids.
Nominees yet to be accepted to the academies will compete for admission during the coming months.
The following students from Maine have been nominated as candidates to the military academies from Senators Collins and King:
United States Air Force Academy – Colorado Springs
- Joseph Bergen, Yarmouth, Yarmouth High School
- Paxton Dionne, Bangor, Bangor High School
- Garrett Engstrom, Alton, Old Town High School
- Harrison Hartnett, Oxford, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School
- Emelyn Hatch, Pittsfield, Maine Central Institute
- August Huffard, Cape Elizabeth, Cape Elizabeth High School
- Kathleen Hughes, Yarmouth, Yarmouth High School
- Andrew Klein, Cumberland Center, Greely High School
- Jonathan Leal, York, York High School
- Brendan Mailloux, Portland, Portland High School
- Tyler Ormonde, Whitefield, Erskine Academy
- Jaimey-Leigh Weidner, Bowdoin, Mount Ararat High School.
United States Merchant Marine Academy – Kings Point
- Glory Blethen, Boothbay, Boothbay Region High School
- August Huffard, Cape Elizabeth, Cape Elizabeth High School
- Sumner Rugh, Chebeague Island, Yarmouth High School
United States Military Academy – West Point
- Jack Begin, Chelsea, Cony High School
- Garrett Engstrom, Alton, Old Town High School
- Bryan Frost, Newburgh, Hampden Academy
- Charles Fussell, Orrington, John Bapst High School
- Calvin Healey, York, York High School
- Aidan Joyce, Scarborough, Scarborough High School
- Benjamin Keller, Falmouth, Falmouth High School
- Jonathan Leal, York, York High School
- Jacob Lowe, Saco, Thornton Academy
- Daniel Penney, Hollis Center, Waynflete
- Kelby Young, Chelsea, Erskine Academy
United States Naval Academy – Annapolis
- Kylie Bedard, Saco, Thornton Academy
- Patrick Bergen, Yarmouth, Yarmouth High School
- Sawyer Carson, Belfast, Belfast Area High School
- Felix Cutler, Winter Harbor, Tabor Academy
- Anna Drinkert, Orono, Orono High School
- Rylee Eaton, Little Deer Isle, Deer Isle Stonington High School
- Delaney Feeney, Winthrop, Kents Hill High School
- Charles Griebel, Hope, Camden Hills Regional High School
- Emelyn Hatch, Pittsfield, Maine Central Institute
- Kathleen Hughes, Yarmouth, Yarmouth High School
- Jacob Lowe, Saco, Thornton Academy
- Lily Pires, Yarmouth, Yarmouth High School
- Sadie Skinner, Orr’s Island, Mount Ararat High School
- Olivia Tiner, Winslow, Winslow High School