Daviess County High School senior Jaw Tae Paw has been nominated to the U.S. Naval Academy.
The admissions process for the service academies is highly competitive and involves numerous requirements that go beyond a traditional college admissions process. In addition to the application, essay, recommendations, and qualifying ACT/SAT scores, a candidate must also pass a physical fitness test, a medical exam, an in-person interview, and earn a nomination from one or more sources. The nomination aspect is unique to the service academy admissions process. Achieving a nomination can be a daunting process unto itself. Many are difficult or impossible to obtain for many applicants. The more nominations one achieves, the greater chance one has to achieve admission to the Naval Academy.
Nomination sources are:
* U.S. Senators, Representatives and Delegates
* The President and Vice President of the United States
* Be a child of a currently serving military person with eight or more years of service in active duty or reserve
* Be a child of a deceased or 100% disabled veteran, or a child of a Prisoner of War, or Missing In Action
* Be a child of a Medal of Honor awardee
* Reserve Officer Training Corps or Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Units
In this case, Paw is being nominated by DCHS Navy JROTC Senior Naval Science Instructor Commander Tyler Goad (USN, Retired).
“Jaw Tae is a well-rounded and high performing student with an inspirational background,” Goad said. “She moved to the United States as a child refugee with her family, fleeing violence in Burma. She served last year as the Rifle Team Captain, demonstrating proficiency with the air rifle, and is currently balancing time between the Rifle team and the Wrestling team. She’s one of only two women on the DCHS wrestling team. Jaw Tae is serving as our Executive Officer this year, which is the second highest ranking position for a student in our organization. She’s oriented toward military service, and plans to take her citizenship test as soon as she is eligible this March. She is an exemplary cadet who has earned the respect of her peers, and is an outstanding student who has already been accepted to Eastern Kentucky University, where she plans to pursue a degree in criminal justice.”
Outstanding student-athletes interested in attending a service academy, especially the Naval Academy, have a distinct advantage by enrolling in Daviess County High School’s NJROTC program. In addition to helping students understand the purpose and functions of our nation’s military through a variety of fun activities in and out of the classroom, the program can nominate up to six members to the service academies each year. The DCHS NJROTC is also capable of conducting physical fitness tests and providing recommendations, and because Commander Goad is an official representative of the Naval Academy’s admissions office as the area’s “Blue and Gold Officer,” he can also conduct the candidate interview portion of the application. Opportunities to enroll in the program are available each semester; students can be enrolled at any stage of their high school career. There is no military service obligation associated with enrollment in a JROTC program.
