{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://davids.house.gov/media/press-releases/davids-announces-13-local-students-receive-us-service-academy-appointments", "Davids Announces 13 Local Students Receive U.S. Service Academy Appointments", "2024-05-30", "2024", "2024-05", "Democrat", "House", "KS", "Sharice Davids", "D000629", "davids.house.gov", "davids", "https://davids.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, Representative Sharice Davids announced that 13 students from the Kansas Third District have successfully received their appointments to a U.S. Service Academy. In a send-off event in Overland Park yesterday, Davids presented each student with a certificate acknowledging their incredible achievement, andRyan Rast, a Davids-nominated student and recent graduate of West Point, shared his advice as these students take the next step in their service.\n\n\u201cAs Representative for Kansas\u2019 Third District, I\u2019m incredibly honored to nominate our future leaders to our nation\u2019s prestigious military service academies,\u201d said Davids. \u201cI\u2019m the daughter of an Army veteran, so I\u2019ve seen what it takes to serve our country. The individuals we are celebrating have my full support, and I am excited to hear more about their accomplishments in the coming years.\u201d\n\n\u201cHaving the honor and privilege to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point for the last four years has been an extraordinary opportunity that has instilled a strong sense of purpose, character, and leadership that I will take with me in my future endeavors,\u201d said Ryan Rast, Davids-nominated student and recent graduate of West Point. \u201cIf I could impart advice to future cadets, it would be not to be deterred by failure, to take time to enjoy the small things along your journey, and never settle for anything. I strongly believe that the opportunities and challenges I faced at West Point have helped me become the soldier, leader, and man I am today and that the friendships and memories created at West Point will last forever.\u201d\n\n\"Every year, the candidates never fail to impress me,\u201d said Mike Souder, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired). \u201cI come away from the process a bit in awe of the maturity of these high school seniors and how much they have already accomplished. Our district should be very proud that some of our best and brightest chose to attend a service academy and serve their country as future military leaders.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was an honor to spend some time with the families and selectees for the service academies,\u201d said Steve Wallace, Lieutenant Colonel, Infantry, U.S. Army (Retired). \u201cI am confident that they will represent Kansas and their communities well as they begin the process of becoming officers in our armed forces\u201d\n\nLast year, Davids nominated 32 students for an appointment based on the recommendations of her Academy Panelist Board. The panelists conducted personal interviews with each applicant, in addition to reviewing written applications, letters of recommendation, and G.P.A. This year\u2019s nonpartisan board included:\n\nMike Souder, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)\n\nSteve Wallace, Lieutenant Colonel, Infantry, U.S. Army (Retired)\n\nAnjail Belton, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy (Retired)\n\nAfter receiving a nomination from Rep. Davids, these 13 applicants successfully met the individual admission requirements for their respective academies, which made the final decision on an appointment of admission. Photos of the students from the Kansas Third District who received appointments can be found HERE. They include:\n\nUnited States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, CO\n\nJohn \u201cJack\u201d Hamilton \u2014 Overland Park, Kansas City Christian School\n\nRobert Hickman \u2014 Shawnee, Mill Valley High School\n\nColleen McAlister \u2014 Prairie Village, Shawnee Mission East High School\n\nNicholas \"Nick\" Westerhaus \u2014 Overland Park, Blue Valley Northwest High School\n\nUnited States Military Academy at West Point, NY\n\nMax Doerfler \u2014 Overland Park, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School\n\nJacob Drone \u2014 Overland Park, Bishop Miege High School\n\nRaj Fanaswala \u2014 Overland Park, Barstow High School\n\nTatum Grimes \u2014 Olathe, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School\n\nJack Kessler \u2014 Fairway, Shawnee Mission East High School\n\nAndrew Morris \u2014 Overland Park, Shawnee Mission South High School\n\nSarah Yan \u2014 Overland Park, Blue Valley West High School\n\nUnited States Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:01:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://davids.house.gov/media/press-releases/davids-announces-13-local-students-receive-us-service-academy-appointments"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.114292234182358, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}