TAYLOR COUNTY—Students at Grafton High School that have an interest in learning more about the United States Service Academies will be given the opportunity to do so and ask questions through U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s Annual Academy Days. 

Due to COVID-19, this year’s event will be held virtually, on three separate occasions.

 The first took place yesterday, the second will occur today at 5:00 p.m., and the final Virtual Academy event, which GHS Administration shared with their students will take place on Tuesday, September 22 at 5:00 p.m. 

During the final day, September 22, Capito will be joined by Congressman David McKinley. 

Each year, Senator Capito nominates students from West Virginia to attend the U.S Service Academies.

Throughout the virtual presentation, she and McKinley will discuss the nomination process, and will also be providing additional information on the application process itself for interested students and parents.

Participants will also get to hear from representatives with the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), as well as the U.S. Department of Defense’s Medical Examination Review Board.

To register for the event, free of charge, students can call 304-347-5372, or visit https://www.capito.senate.gov/academy-nominations.

Students who are interested in applying for their chance to be nominated to attend these schools can also do so by visiting the aforementioned webpage. 

In order to be eligible, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, a legal resident of the state of West Virginia, single; not pregnant and without legal obligation to support children or other dependents and must be at least 17 years of age, but not yet older than 23 on July 1 of the year they would enter the academy.

The website notes that service academy applicants are eligible for nomination by both United States Senators in the state of their local residence and the United States Representative for the District in which they reside.  

Being admitted is a two-tier process where the candidate must first apply directly through the academy. The second tier is the Congressional Nominations process.

Contenders are encouraged to apply early to any and all service academies for which they have a genuine interest.

The application deadline is October 15, however, students are urged to not wait until the deadline to submit their applications.

In additional to submitting the completed application, those vying for the opportunity must also submit an affidavit of domicile form, principal/guidance counselor form with official high school transcript, including a list of 12th grade classes, official ACT and SAT scores, two to four recommendation letters and a photo no larger in size than a 5x7, of a full face view, clearly showing head and shoulders; these photographs will not be returned.

The 2020 Academy Nomination process will open on February 3, 2020.