THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512020126
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
You don't have to be a perfect ``brain'' but you'd better be well-rounded, willing to work hard and really want to go there.
That was the message that Naval Academy midshipman David-Tavis M. Pollard delivered to students at eight local high schools Thanksgiving week. Pollard is part of Operation Information, a Navy program to inform high school students about Annapolis.
Pollard, a senior and a volunteer for the select program, was eager to enthusiastically extol the virtues of his school.
``The Naval Academy is the best place to be,'' he told two classes of Air Force Junior ROTC cadets at Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake. ``I can't say enough good things about it. It's a stepping stone to the future; the Naval Academy is a super school.''
Pollard explained the academy isn't looking just for ``brains'' but for ``doers.'' Admission criteria include the whole person: clubs, participation, leadership. Brains by themselves, he said, aren't good enough if you can't do anything with them. He said the first time he took the college SAT tests the results were ``not so good.'' After first applying he received a letter discouraging his ambition. But he took the SATs a second time, with ``awesome'' results that helped get him in. It's important to persevere, he said.
``Apply at the end of your junior year,'' he advised. ``It's always best to start when you're a junior.''
Life at the Naval Academy, Pollard said, starts in June for those who are selected. They go four years with breaks for active duty for training. Upon graduation, they have a six year commitment to the Navy.
Pollard stressed the rigorous nature of the academy's academic programs, pointing out that, at most schools, his major, system engineering, is a five-year master's program. He listed the resources available to students, including a nuclear reactor, tow tank, and several wind tunnels.
Pollard, a varsity diver, praised the academy's athletic programs, noting, ``There's every team you could ever think of and more.''
Lt. Col. Ray Brown, aerospace science instructor at Deep Creek, was delighted to have Pollard address his cadets.
``(The Navy) contacted us,'' he said. ``It's tough to get these kinds of guys to come into the schools. We have so many Navy dependents; it's a nice deal for us. We advertise for the service academies but it's nothing like having one of them show up.''
Pollard said he had taken one semester of ROTC before starting at the academy and said it helped a lot.
He also regaled students with tales of what he has done outside the classroom. The first summer, he said, he sailed a 44-foot sloop to Bermuda. Noting that academy graduates may go into either the Navy or Marine Corps, he pointed out that he had spent time with the Marines. Summer before last was spent aboard a submarine, the Baltimore based in Norfolk. Last summer he flew helicopters for several weeks and then joined a C-2 ``Greyhound'' aircraft squadron.
When Pollard visited Kempsville High School, military coordinator Clinton McNair provided a table outside the cafeteria where he could talk to students passing by. One of them, Nick Mollenhauer, 17, a senior who has already interviewed for the academy, talked with Pollard at length.
When he graduates in May, Pollard plans to opt for naval aviation, a choice that will take him to Pensacola, Fla., and then to Corpus Christi, Texas, his hometown, for flight school. His goal is to fly the F/A-18.
Pollard's schedule also took him to Ocean Lakes, Green Run and Kellam high schools in Virginia Beach and Indian River, Western Branch and Great Bridge high schools in Chesapeake. by CNB