Sartell High Schooler Nominated for U.S. Naval Academy

(KNSI) – Sartell High School student Alexander Assih is one step closer to his dream of being a future Marine Corps officer after being nominated for the Naval Academy by Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach.

Assih was one of only 10 people from Minnesota’s 7th District to earn the distinction of being put forward for a service academy. He is still riding high from the honor. “I got a call from a government number, and I was like, Oh, I wonder who this is. I answered it…You know, it was kind of a rough week at that point with school and everything. It was so sudden, and it made my entire week.”

He describes the process as a long one. In addition to a letter and college application, Assih was interviewed by a five-person panel that included two U.S. Senators and a retired Naval officer.

He was influenced to go after the Naval Academy nod by his grandfather, a former Devil Dog himself, with whom he lives in St. Joseph Township. Assih has gotten this far without so much as a tour of the campus in Maryland. He plans to take it all in, along with the grueling “plebe summer” next year if accepted.

“They have a plebe year that they do. It’s kind of similar to like a boot camp or basic training before you actually go into the academy. They’ll do that in June. So, if I do get accepted into the academy, I’ll get a flight to Annapolis in June.”

Even if Assih is left out of the Naval Academy, he doesn’t plan on letting his dream of becoming a Marine officer die. He is already looking into starting enlisted and then transitioning over to a commissioned officer.

Another route is to go through a collegiate ROTC program and then attend Marine Officer Candidate School after graduation.

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