Son
of Saint Louis Residents Serves at U.S. Naval Academy
By Rachael Leslie
Annapolis, MD. ¡V Tucked away in Annapolis,
MD. Is a school which, since 1845, has provided more
than 60 thousand young men and women with much more
than the average four-year undergraduate education. In
turn, the Academy has provided the nation with leaders
as presidents, senators, scientists, and more. This
one-of-a-kind institution is the United States Naval
Academy.
Twenty-one-year-old Midshipman 2nd
Class Jason L. Chen, son of Chi and Cathy Chen of St.
Louis, MO., is one of the chosen few to attend one of
the most difficult schools in the United States. ¡§I
chose to attend the academy because I wanted to be a
part of something larger than myself. I wanted to be
somewhere where I would be pushed to be a better
person,¡¨ said Chen, a 1998 graduate of John
Burroughs High School. ¡§In the past few years I¡¦ve
both seen and done things I never imagined myself
having the chance to. I¡¦ve traveled to Singapore,
Japan and Bahrain on a destroyer, repelled out of a
helicopter and met some incredible people.¡¨ The
Academy challenges students physically, mentally and
intellectually, as well as teaching students to create
and develop leadership skills. In addition to the
basic college curriculum, the esteemed school
incorporates the Navy core values of honor, courage
and commitment into each student¡¦s daily life. This
education provides not only an academic challenge to
those who attend the school, but also promotes
teamwork and discipline.
The first challenge students overcome is plebe
summer, an exhausting seven-week indoctrination course
that tests each student¡¦s abilities and potential.
After completing this challenge the young adults are
not your average college students. They will spend the
next four years attending the academy as midshipmen in
the U.S. Navy. No matter what their background, race,
gender or religion, they all have the same opportunity
to become one of the Navy¡¦s finest.
The Naval Academy offers midshipmen an
assortment of majors to choose from. ¡§I wanted to be
a systems engineer because I like to tinker with
things, and I wanted to take advantage of the
academy¡¦s top systems program. The instructors are
dynamic, the engineering is multi-disciplined and
exceedingly difficult for me at times,¡¨ said Chen.
¡§Just last week I got to build a robot that actually
tracked light as I moved it around!¡¨
Because the students face many different
challenges, they have the opportunity to excel in
their stronger areas as well as improve their
weaknesses. ¡§Plebe summer was difficult for me
because I was so used to being responsible for my own
actions. The first time you screw up and your
teammates take the fall for your blunder is a hard
pill to swallow,¡¨ said Chen. ¡§Throughout it all I
learned patience, personal honor, self-motivation and
leadership responsibility.¡¨
Chen is scheduled to graduate from the academy
in May of 2002. ¡§After I graduate, I want to be a
submarine officer. There are also some graduate study
programs I am interested in,¡¨ said Chen. ¡§In the
long run, with a solid background in engineering,
speaking fluent Russian, Chinese and English, and
experience as a nuclear submarine officer, I might
have the skills required to be a good nuclear arms
policy expert/negotiator someday.¡¨
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