Life as a Cadet at West Point: From Dublin High School to the US Military Academy
by Ben Young (Dublin High School Class of 2011 and West Point Freshman)
Ben with his parents
When I accepted my appointment to the United States Military Academy, West Point, I did not really know what to expect. However, I did not have much time to get anxious about it because two weeks after graduating from Dublin High School I was off to report to Cadet Basic Training, more formally known as “Beast Barracks”. This seven week program was designed to transform me from a civilian into a cadet and to give me the basic tools needed to be a soldier. During those seven weeks I had no phone or Facebook, which was a challenge, but the highlight of my day was checking the mail. It was literally like Christmas in July. Over the summer I learned a lot, met so many great people and made amazing friends. However, I kept hearing how West Point was very different during the academic year, and they were right.
One thing I was certain of was that I was going to have a much different college experience than my peers. This first semester has been very different than anything I have experienced before. The academic system is unique because West Point uses what is called the “Thayer Method”, named after Colonel Sylvanus Thayer. Colonel Thayer’s system involves the students teaching themselves. We are expected to read the chapter ahead of time, prepare ourselves, do the homework, and come to class with questions for the teacher about the lesson. However, the class sizes do not exceed fifteen or twenty which allows for tons of individual time with the professor and the professors here would bend over backwards to help any of their cadets.
Ben with fellow Dublin High Grads
Dublin High was a great place to get involved and that mindset translated over to West Point for me. I tried out for the club water polo team and was fortunate enough to make it. It has been a great release for me to get away from the strict regimen of military life, and meet new people. The team is tons of fun and we get out almost every weekend to different tournaments (which is a big deal because as a freshman at West Point you can only leave campus twice a semester). It has been an absolute blast.
There are lots of rules that freshmen have to follow including: cupping your hands outside, not talking outside, walking along the walls of the hallways, greeting all the upperclassmen as you walk by, and doing duties at meals, but you deal with it because it is part of being a freshman and everyone before you has made it through.
The one aspect of West Point that I love the most is when we get visitors that come to speak to us. This year we have heard the former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, General Raymond Odierno, Medal of Honor recipients and Silver Star recipients. Each time I have been sitting listening to these great men speak I swell up with pride to be an American and honor to even have the opportunity to be wear my uniform. West Point may be difficult and my days may be busy but how many college freshmen can say they have been in the presence of these men.
It is hard to believe that I am two thirds of the way done with my first semester but so far it has been a great experience. There are good days and bad days, but the good days far outweigh the bad. There has not been one second that I have regretted my decision to come to West Point. I can attribute that to Dublin High’s diverse campus climate, amazing staff of teachers who pushed me to be better, and just the overall production of well rounded individuals. I will never forget what I learned during my four years at Dublin.
At the Dublin High School 2011 Senior Awards Night Ben Young was named, along with Michelle Lee, the Jostens Senior of the Year, was awarded the Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence, the Chris Doyle ’98 Award by the Dublin High Alumni Association, a Dublin High Irish Guard Band Boosters Scholarship, a Dublin High Athletic Boosters Scholarship, was awarded the President’s Gold Award for Educational Excellence and was named a California Scholarship Federation Life Member. Ben was also the Dublin High School Student Body President for 2010-11.
Ben is also writing about his West Point experience on his blog: http://officerandagentleman.blogspot.com/.
Other articles in the Life in College series:
- Life at Harvard University: Michelle Lee on Choosing Crimson for College Colors
- Becoming a University of Arizona Wildcat – From Dublin to Tucson
- Life as a UCLA Bruin: Deanna Hong on Combining Art, Athletics and Academics
- Life at Sonoma State University – Fulfilling a Love of Music
- Life at UC San Diego – From Dublin High AP to Nanoengineering
- Life as a Piper at Hamline University
- Life as a Vaquero at Santa Barbara City College
- Life at Stanford University: Ravali Reddy on Choosing Cardinal for College Colors
- Life at Columbia University and JTS – from Dublin High to the Ivy League
- Life at UC Davis: From The Hills of Dublin to the Flats of Davis
- Life at Penn State – Going from a Gael to a Nittany Lion
Ben (front-right) with Fellow Cadets
Ben in his West Point dorm room
Trackbacks
- Life as a University of Southern California Trojan On and Off the Stage | OneDublin.org
- Life at the University of British Columbia – Why Not Canada? | OneDublin.org
- Life at Georgetown University – A Dublin High School Gael Meets Jack the Bulldog | OneDublin.org
- Life at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo – from a Dublin Gael to a Seaside Mustang | OneDublin.org
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OneDublin.org 
Dear Ben,
Hi my name is Erika Polhamus, and I have many questions about West Point, and if you had the time to answer some of them it would be greatly appreciated. First of all congradulations on getting into such an amazing school. I have received my letter to apply to West Point, and I definitely want to apply, but I don’t know much about the school. Therefore I wanted to list some important questions and was hoping you could possibly answer them.
Do cadets ever get to go to New York City? I know you are about an hour away, but it seems like it’s a closed campus
How is the food? Is it just college food or restaurants as well?
How are the dorms? I’ve toured many colleges (I want to be an aerospace engineer) and I know most dorms aren’t very nice.
What is the party scene? I’ve done research and I know there are not parties like at most colleges, but on weekends do friends get together in dorms to drink? Or is there no drinking of alcohol at all?
Thank you so much, I know most of my questions seem random. I’ve done a ton of research on this amazing school but those were some questions I couldn’t get answered
Hey Erika, I am glad that you are considering West Point as one of your options and I would be more than happy to answer these questions for you.
Cadets do in fact get to go to New York City. Its is an amazing city and my friends and I always have a great time when we go down there. West Point is not a closed campus but it is difficult to get away sometimes because it is so isolated from everything. Also as a freshman you don’t get that many opportunities to leave but it gets better don’t worry. I’m now in my junior year and I have left West Point many of the weekends this semester. You can leave during the week as well but it is hard to do that because of the amount of work that you have to get done during the week.
To be honest Erika, the food is not like the typical food on most college campuses.We don’t have a big cafeteria or restaurants on campus but that is because we all eat together. Breakfast and lunch are mandatory meals every day (except weekends) and we all eat at the same time. We have a huge dinning common that we call the mess hall and it feeds all 4,000+ cadets at once. It is quite an experience. You also sit at a table of ten and servers bring the meal for the day to your table. It is like we are one giant family which makes the meals at West Point kind of special in their own regard. I really like that we eat together so I guess I am biased in saying that I think meals are better at West Point than other colleges.
The dorms are old. West Point was founded in 1802 and most of the buildings here are original buildings so there is a lot that needs to be fixed up. However they are in the process of renovating all of the dorms, and they are actually putting in a set of brand new dorms. Things are only going to get better in that regard. Although to be honest, most days I am pretty busy and don’t spend that much time in my room anyway.
You are right, there are no parties here like on most college campuses. There is no alcohol allowed in your rooms. However, if you are of age there are a few spots on campus that you can go to and drink at. Also there are a bunch of bars in the town that is right outside the gates of West Point. So a lot of times if we don’t have much going on during the weekend we will get a group of friends together and go to the bars in town.
I hope that this helps! West Point is a very challenging yet rewarding experience. There are demands that we have to meet that a lot of other college students don’t but that’s the nature of going to a military academy. As hard as the past three years have been though, if I could go back I would do the same thing again. I have had experiences and opportunities open up to me here that I am certain would never have surfaced elsewhere. Also one last piece of advice if you do choose to pursue West Point: get things on the application done as soon as you can. It is a very long application process and you do not want to fall behind! Other than that….good luck with the rest of your school year and if you have any other questions please do not hesitate to ask.
Feel free to email me:
benjamin.young@usma.edu
-Ben
thank you for answering her questions