{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fong.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-vince-fong-announces-us-service-academy-nominees", "Rep. Vince Fong Announces U.S. Service Academy Nominees", "2024-12-10", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Vince Fong", "F000480", "fong.house.gov", "fong", "https://fong.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, Rep. Vince Fong (CA-20) announced his nominations to the United States Service Academies. Nominees were selected in a competitive process in which many highly qualified 20th Congressional District students applied for consideration.\n\n\u201cIt is my honor to nominate these distinguished students to the United States Service Academies,\u201d said Rep. Fong. \u201cI am certain that their dedication to their studies and our country will help them excel in their future endeavors and make our community proud. Thank you to my esteemed interview panel who helped with the selection process.\u201d\n\nRep. Fong designated one principal nominee for each academy that will fill one of five slots afforded to him as a Member of Congress at each academy. He also nominated competing alternate nominations for each academy that will be ranked according to their competitiveness by the Academy Admission Board and selected for admission at the academy\u2019s discretion. The academies traditionally notify the alternates by April whether they will be offered an appointment. Some applicants received a nomination to more than one academy according to the rank preference listed on their application.\n\nEach candidate was interviewed by Rep. Vince Fong\u2019s Academy Interview Committee and the selections were submitted to the Representative. The 2024 Academy Committee Members included: Cam Martin, former External Affairs Director at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, father of two United States Naval Academy graduates; (Committee Chair) Brigadier General Douglas Wickert, Commanding Officer, 412th Test Wing, Edwards Air Force Base,United States Air Force Academy graduate; Bob Ainley, Attorney and Owner of the Darling Hotel in Visalia; Derek Jeffery, Vice President & General Manager for KGET-TV, Telemundo, and CW Bakersfield stations; and Dr. April Moore, Superintendent, Sierra Sands Unified School District in Ridgecrest.\n\nUnited States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO (USAFA)\n\nPrincipal Nominee:\n\nBraeden Hill, 16, of Friant, California. Braeden attends University High School in Fresno and is the son of C. Aaron and Shawna Hill.\n\nCompeting Alternates:\n\nKade Bravo, United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School, Colorado Springs, CO\n\nJoshua Gault, Clovis North High School, Clovis, CA\n\nSofia Gonzalez, Hanford West High School, Hanford, CA\n\nTyler Kipp, Centennial High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nJoanna Lee, El Diamonte High School, Visalia, CA\n\nLauren Phillips, Bakersfield Christian High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nShelbie Porter, Liberty High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nAidan Vansickle, Desert Junior-Senior High School, Edwards, CA\n\nElijah Zepeda, Stockdale High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nUnited States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD (USNA)\n\nPrincipal Nominee:\n\nJoanna Lee, 17, of Visalia, California. Joanna attends El Diamante High School in Visalia and is the daughter of Wook Lee and Seonim Yu.\n\nCompeting Alternates:\n\nJoshua Gault, Clovis North High School, Clovis, CA\n\nSofia Gonzalez, Hanford West High School, Hanford, CA\n\nBraeden Hill, University High School, Fresno, CA\n\nLayla James, Stockdale High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nMadison Lane, Bakersfield Christian High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nJeremiah Molina, California State University, Fresno, CA\n\nLauren Phillips, Bakersfield Christian High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nEli Pugliese, Clovis High School, Clovis, CA\n\nElijah Zepeda, Stockdale High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nUnited States Military Academy, West Point, NY (USMA)\n\nPrincipal Nominee:\n\nShelbie Porter, 16, of Bakersfield, California. Shelbie attends Liberty High School in Bakersfield and is the daughter of Fred II and Kathleen Porter.\n\nCompeting Alternates:\n\nBrinon Gacad, United States Military Academy Preparatory School, West Point, NY\n\nReese Galloway, Desert Junior-Senior High School, Edwards, CA\n\nSofia Gonzalez, Hanford West High School, Hanford, CA\n\nBraeden Hill, University High School, Fresno, CA\n\nLayla James, Stockdale High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nMadison Lane, Bakersfield Christian High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nAugustine Miller, University High School, Fresno, CA\n\nLauren Phillips, Bakersfield Christian High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nElijah Zepeda, Stockdale High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nUnited States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY (USMMA)\n\nNOTE: The United States Merchant Marine Academy does not allow for a principal nominee to be designated. Members of Congress submit a slate of unranked nominations to the academy.\n\nCompeting Alternates:\n\nMadison Lane, Bakersfield Christian High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nLauren Phillips, Bakersfield Christian High School, Bakersfield, CA\n\nEli Pugliese, Clovis High School, Clovis, CA", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "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://fong.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-vince-fong-announces-us-service-academy-nominees"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9255371987819672, "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"}