WHB junior Lucy DiBenedetto applied to and was selected for the prestigious military summer academy, West Point Summer Leaders Seminar (SLE)!   Lucy attended the SLE program from  June 7^th through June 13^th 2014.

Out of 6,000 applicants for the SLE at West Point, only 1,000 were selected to attend one of the two sessions. According to information from one of the admission officers at West Point, the officers believe it is harder to get into the SLE than it is to get into West Point and roughly 40% of those that attend the SLE go on to being accepted at West Point.

Through hard work and dedication, Lucy received admission to the highly competitive West Point, which is a government-funded college. If Lucy does decide to attend the college after her program this summer, she would be required to serve at least five years of active duty and three years in a Reserve Component, a total of eight years, after she graduates.

During the second week in June, Lucy spent her days in a whole new way. Days started at 5:45 am and ended with lights out at 11 pm. Throughout the day she participated in classes, military training, athletics, and social events. She was offered 15 workshops, from which she had to choose five and out of those five she was given three. A few that she chose were the Chemistry and Life Science Workshop, the Foreign Language Workshop, and the Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Workshop. She explained, “Selecting the Chemistry and Foreign Language Workshops were a no-brainer; I love chemistry and anything having to do with life sciences, and I have always wanted to learn languages other than the standard French and Spanish.” Unfortunately so many people wanted to attend the Chemistry and Life Sciences Workshop and Behavioral Sciences Workshop that there was no room left. Instead she took Foreign Language (Arabic), Social Sciences, and History.

How did Lucy receive such an honor? Well, unknowingly, Lucy has preparing for her acceptance her whole life! From a young age and even more so during her high school years, she has been working very hard. She has earned a high GPA,  high-standardized test scores, and continues her leadership through obtaining leadership positions. Not only that, but she has “multiple athletic achievements in track and slalom skiing,” which she feels contributed to her acceptance.

Next time you see Lucy congratulate her for working hard enough to earn the privilege of attending the prestigious West Point for the Summer Leaders Experience program!