DLIFLC students to attend West Point

By Patrick Bray
DLIFLC Public Affairs

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MONTEREY, Calif. – Two recent graduates from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, California, have been accepted into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. Both students will begin their studies this fall.

Every year, Rep. Sam Farr, of the 20th Congressional District of California, sponsors a reception held at the Presidio of Monterey’s historic Weckerling Center to congratulate students from his district who have been accepted to the prestigious academy. This year, Farr invited appointees, their families, and two DLIFLC graduates to celebrate the event May 27.

“It’s a rough experience during the first year at an academy,” said Farr. “It’s good to know somebody else from the neighborhood and that is why we hold this reception every year.”

Farr said the selection process was not something he did alone, but that he established a board of review consisting of military academy graduates who reside with his district, including DLIFLC’s Col. Ginger Wallace, the assistant commandant.

Among those nominated from DLIFLC were Spc. Jessica Maddox and Spc. David Oh.
Oh completed the institute’s 64-week Mandarin Chinese Basic Course and intends to study engineering. He graduated DLIFLC with a high grade point average and an associates of arts degree.

Maddox completed Pashto, also a 64-week course, and intends to study international relations and computer science. She also graduated DLIFLC with a high grade point average.

Pashto and Mandarin require rigorous study outside of the seven hours of classroom instruction per day. On top of that, both soldiers had to go through a lengthy West Point application process and nomination, and all while preparing for the language proficiency tests. They look forward to studying at West Point and plan to maintain their language skills as they do so.

Oh already has his sights set on becoming a Foreign Area Officer in the future, utilizing his Chinese language skills.

Maddox is ready for West Point on account of her experience in the Army thus far. She grew up with the Army having been born in Germany into a military family and raised on numerous installations.

“I know the academic requirements are going to be a lot different than they are here,” said Maddox. “At DLIFLC I learned to sit down for eight hours and study just one subject and stay focused on it, and then go home and complete homework on that subject.”

At West Point, just like other universities, fulltime students attend several classes on several subjects per day. West Point cadets must also complete military and physical training daily.

Still, both Oh and Maddox are ready for the challenges at West Point. Oh graduated from a Catholic high school in 2011, which he credits for helping him make the transition to military life easier.

“High school was kind of like the military. You had to have a uniform. There’s several regulations for everything. It wasn’t that difficult transitioning over to the military from high school,” said Oh.

Maddox is also ready for the challenge.

“A foundational part of being a soldier is that you don’t quit. The Army requires you to focus and to complete tasks,” said Maddox.

Now as graduates of DLIFLC they encourage current and future students to set goals, study hard and be as proficient in their languages as possible because the experience is well worth it.

“Some days I wondered why I chose to be here, but then I’d remind myself this is a really good opportunity to be learning a language fulltime,” said Oh. “I reminded myself of that fact and it helped me push through.”