By William Andrews

Some people go to college expecting to study hard, but play harder. A normal college experience looks like newfound independence, academic growth, and new extracurricular activities. However, for my cousin Holden Woodward, college is a sharp contrast. Woodward, a 2023 graduate of nearby St. Christopher’s School, is in his second year at the United States Naval Academy. 

The Naval Academy is one of five service academies in the United States, along with the US Military Academy (West Point), US Air Force Academy, US Coast Guard Academy, and the US Merchant Marine Academy. Attending each service academy includes a future service obligation in a branch of the United States military. The service commitment for the Naval Academy is five years of active duty in the Navy or Marine Corps. 

The USNA was initially established by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft as the Naval School in 1845. It was created without any Congressional funding, using existing Naval resources and funds, in Annapolis, Maryland. Only 50 midshipmen and seven professors were part of the initial Naval School. In 1850, the Naval School officially became the United States Naval Academy. The campus expanded, as well as the number of midshipmen. Today, the Naval Academy spans over 550 acres and enrolls over 4,500 students. Famous alumni include President Jimmy Carter, Vietnam veteran and prisoner of war and Arizona Senator John McCain, and astronaut Alan Shepard. 

Woodward was partly inspired to apply to the Naval Academy by his grandfather, retired Army Colonel James Holden, who served as a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War and later in the Virginia Army National Guard. He recognized the sacrifice that Holden made and wanted to make a similar difference. Woodward also wanted to attend a top-tier academic institution where he could continue his interests, and the Naval Academy was the perfect fit. 

Woodward with his grandfather, Colonel James Holden, US Army. Photo courtesy of Holden Woodward.

The Naval Academy is a completely different college experience, starting with the admissions process. First off, you must be eligible to apply to the USNA. These requirements include United States citizenship, being between 17 and 23 years old, unmarried, not pregnant, and no dependents. If you are indeed eligible, you must then receive a nomination. These nominations usually come from your representative in the US Senate or House of Representatives. After receiving a successful nomination, submitted test scores and transcript, prospective students must then complete a medical examination and a candidate fitness assessment. 

The medical exam reviews your medical history, along with physical and eye exams. The fitness assessment is very difficult, due to the high physical standards of the Naval Academy. The assessment includes a one-mile run, a “shuttle run,” a kneeling basketball throw, abdominal crunches, push-ups, and pull-ups. If you meet the standards for each exercise, your application will then be reviewed, and you may be accepted into the Academy. 

While other college students enjoy the last summer before leaving for college, accepted midshipmen enroll in “Plebe Summer.” The program is designed to turn the students into midshipmen and to prepare them for life at the USNA. The seven-week program is physically demanding but also helps the future midshipmen prepare mentally. And of course, to initiate Plebe Summer, all male midshipmen have their heads shaved. 

Woodward described Plebe Summer as “chaotic” and “the point is to make you uncomfortable.” An average day starts with an early wake-up call at 5:30 a.m., where you are woken up by screaming, yelling, and banging on the doors by senior officers. Your sheets are ripped off, and you are quickly forced into an early workout consisting of running and push-ups. Ending around 6:30-7:00 a.m., the plebes must dress in uniform and head to breakfast. Woodward said, “breakfast is an odd experience. You are not allowed to look down at your food. You must look straight ahead.” After everyone eats breakfast together, the plebes return to the dorms. 

The Academy is distinctive in the fact that all students stay in the same residence hall, Bancroft Hall. Bancroft Hall is the largest residence hall in the United States and has over 33 acres of floor space. Students are not permitted to live off campus.

Naval Academy campus. Photo courtesy of @usnavalacademy via instagram.

Different activities occur throughout the summer to prepare the plebes for different skills, such as swimming, navigation, hand-to-hand combat, running through nearby woods, learning how to sail, and using arms and machinery. After another uncomfortable dinner, the plebes then have drill practice. At drill practice, the plebes march and carry a firearm filled with concrete. Then the plebes immediately go to bed at 9:30 p.m., preparing for another long day. 

Once the academic year starts, a normal day at the Naval Academy is also quite different than at a typical college. While some college schedules might have one to three classes per day, even with days off, the Naval Academy operates similarly to a high school schedule. All students wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. and work out before classes. Then they have six continuous classes with a break for lunch. Meals look different at the Naval Academy, because everybody eats together at once. Both breakfast and lunch are mandatory, and the meals are served family-style to help build camaraderie and fellowship. The schedule at the Naval Academy is designed to build mentally and physically tough midshipmen. 

Woodward is also a squash player at the USNA. Squash gets less recognition as an NCAA sport, but it is quite popular among schools in the Northeast. Woodward played squash at St. Christopher’s and was recruited to play at the Naval Academy. Being on the squash team makes Woodward’s schedule even more demanding, with trips for matches to places such as Maine and even Canada. However, Woodward is thankful for squash, even when practice is tiring or rough, saying, “squash is one of the best parts about the Academy. It is a break away from the academics and rigor and builds camaraderie, even on the tough days.” 

Woodward playing squash. Photo courtesy of Mary Katheran Woodward.

After practice, Woodward eats dinner and then works on homework. The USNA is a top-level academic institution, with most majors focused around STEM. Woodward said, “at the USNA, you are constrained by time. There is not much leisure time and definitely no partying.” These aspects of college, which many high school students look for when applying to colleges, will not be found at the Academy. 

While many students look forward to joining fraternities and sororities or different clubs, the Naval Academy has no Greek life. Instead, midshipmen form tight bonds with those around them. Each graduating class has around 1,000 students, who are then separated into companies comprising around 40 midshipmen. You eat, sleep, live, drill, and learn alongside the members of your company. While some universities separate living situations based on gender, the Naval Academy doesn’t. Woodward said, “I live next to girls. It’s not weird for me to walk into their room and have a conservation. It definitely helps me become closer to more people.” Midshipmen are initially placed with random roommates that rotate often to open up more friendships. Later, the midshipmen are given a choice of roommate but are limited to members of their company and class. Woodward said, “I often think of the phrase, ‘shared suffering builds friendship,’ and this definitely applies to the friendships I have formed with members of my company.” 

Midshipmen do receive time off during normal breaks, including a winter break after exams and a week for spring break. Still, there are much tighter restrictions, such as mandatory attendance and the limited use of a car. Summers are no different between years at the Naval Academy. Some time is given off, but most of the summer is used to continue physical activity or explore new fields in continued preparation for future military service. Woodward spent time during the summer of 2024 on an aircraft and time underwater in a submarine. While tuition is free at the Naval Academy, in exchange for military service, midshipmen also receive monthly stipends to help them with other expenses. 

Heading into his third year, Woodward will begin to concentrate on a specificity within the military. For him, he is thinking of either training to become a Navy SEAL or entering the Marine Corps when he finishes with a commission as a second lieutenant. Both will require immense amounts of physical training and dedication. But Woodward knows he is capable and up for the challenge. He said, “I realize my goals, and I follow them. Throughout my time at the Naval Academy, I have understood that you don’t let up on the gas and push yourself to complete your goals.”  

Photo courtesy of Mary Katheran Woodward.

Collegiate Upper School math teacher Derek Podolny also has experience in the US Navy. Podolny served as a Commander in the Navy and spent time as a nuclear engineer on a submarine, the USS Norfolk. Podolny took a different path to service, enrolling in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at the University of Notre Dame. Similarly to the structure of the Naval Academy, the ROTC program provides free tuition at an institution in exchange for a commission in the military.

Cougar alumnus Reilly Klein (‘13) also attended the Naval Academy, where he graduated in 2017. He began his deployment in the Navy aboard the USS Spruance, serving in the Middle East, South China Sea, and Indian Ocean. He then served as a Training Officer in Norfolk, Virginia. After his service, he received his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University and now works for Boston Consulting Group as a management consultant. He spoke about his experiences in the Upper School’s Veterans Day Assembly on Nov. 11, 2024, and he was introduced in the Assembly by Harper Murphy (‘25), who will be attending the Naval Academy after graduation. Klein is an example of how the Naval Academy not only prepares you for your commission but also life afterwards. 

While other college students hope that college prepares them to find a job, the Naval Academy is preparing midshipmen for future military careers. Many midshipmen will serve longer than the five-year requirement, but others will pursue opportunities in fields such engineering, medicine, or education. The journey at the Naval Academy is a stark contrast to the normal college experience, but the reward and sacrifice are far greater. 

Featured image courtesy of Mary Katheran Woodward.