Owen M. - At the USNA STEM Program

I had a very interesting time at the Naval Academy.  This visit opened my eyes to many possibilities in my future.  Waking up at 5:30 to travel all the way to Annapolis was worth it, and arriving early allowed us to enjoy the scenery around the Annapolis area.

When we arrived at the Naval Academy, we attended several classes: 3-D object programming, biometrics, naval architecture, and diffraction of light.  My favorite of these classes was biometrics because we got to see how we as a country have advanced in technology.  The scientists and professors were able to create computer programs that could recognize emotions, voices, and fingerprints.  After the classes, we went on a tour of the YP boats.

The YP boats were very big and the crewmen showed us where the midshipmen ate and slept whenever they were on board.  The beds didn’t look very comfortable but the people had to manage.  After a ride on the river on the YP boat, we met with our assigned midshipmen.  My midshipman’s name was Anthony B. and he gave me a short tour of his dorm hall and his room.  We proceeded to dinner and then went to the Sprint Football game.  The game was good even though we lost; the weather was pretty cold.  My midshipman gave me a lot of insight on how he applied to the Naval Academy and how his family was already involved in the Navy.

The tour of the school was great; the building that impressed me the most was the field house, seeing how it had one of the biggest indoor tracks in the world, and it looked pretty cool.  Overall, the trip was wonderful, especially when we were given a tour of the Yard and the campus.  This visit opened my eyes to new and different opportunities.