NDA junior Charles Peterson has been accepted to attend the acclaimed Summer Seminar at the United States Naval Academy. This is a program where students can begin their journey to serving our country.

“Going to the Naval Academy has been a lifelong dream of mine, and this is a chance to see if it is really for me,” said Peterson when asked how he feels about this experience.

This seminar is a week-long camp for students to see what they would be experiencing at the Naval Academy if they were accepted to attend college there.

In order to be accepted, Peterson had to “write an essay on why I wanted to attend the Naval Academy. A committee also looked over my grades, athletics, leadership and service as well as other achievements throughout my high school career.”

The Naval Academy is located in Annapolis, Maryland, and this seminar seves as a preliminary application to the Academy for all that attend.

Peterson will be attending the seminar from June 8-13, and he will spend his week living as he would if he were in college.

During this camp, he will participate in various physical activities and learn through academic workshops that are available to the students.

He will also take a mock Candidate Fitness exam which he would have to pass in order to be officially accepted to the academy later on.

“This will give me the chance to see if this is really what I want to do after high school. Being on the campus and going through the physical activities of the seminar will help me decide if this is the right decision,” said Peterson.

If Peterson decides that this is the right place for him, he will hopefully be accepted into the Naval Academy for college, and if he does, he will spend a minimum of five years in the Navy.

If he is not accepted, he would like to participate in ROTC at the college he ends up attending.

“After college, I want to go to law school and become a criminal lawyer. As I get older, I would like to open my own law firm,” he said.