THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 31, 1996 TAG: 9605300192
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 83 lines
Ramel Bautista definitely has the right stuff, say all four of the nation's prestigious military academies.
The 17-year-old Tallwood High School senior was accepted at Annapolis, West Point and the Coast Guard and Air Force academies.
And, why wouldn't they all want him? He's got a 3.9 grade point average, is a champion tennis player and, perhaps most importantly, is possessed of those qualities of character the nation's military establishment so values - honesty, integrity, loyalty and trustworthiness.
On July 2, Bautista will enter the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. The choice wasn't a hard one for him, because, after all, he's grown up in the Navy. His father, Lt. Rainfredo Bautista, is a Navy supply officer. His mother, Mely Bautista, is a medical technician at Virginia Beach General Hospital. Bautista has two younger brothers and a younger sister.
The family lives in Brigadoon Pines. Earlier, Bautista attended Brandon Middle School and Indian Lakes and Rosemont elementaries.
``He is a remarkable kid,'' said Mely Bautista of her son. ``He's been the leader of the house, the father of the house when his dad is out at sea. I'm so proud of him.''
David Weiss, Bautista's teacher-coach at Tallwood, cited Bautista's ``maturity'' as his outstanding quality.
``His whole attitude, in school, toward teachers, other adults, his studies and tennis,'' Weiss expanded. ``He never shirks responsibility or hard work. He knows that hard work and politeness are the keys. He never falters, and he's modest. I don't suppose he told you about his black belt in karate, did he?''
This season, Bautista led his Tallwood tennis team to compete in regional championships that qualified it for state finals. ``That's a first in team play,'' said Weiss. In addition, Bautista was Beach District runner-up last year and the team's top player this year and last, said Weiss.
Swaying Bautista toward the Naval Academy, in addition to the family connection, was the fact that Annapolis was the only one of the four institutions to send him a questionnaire about tennis, for him, ``the main thing.'' And the academy's tennis coach phoned him after he'd sent in his application.
``School pride makes them cherish their athletes,'' Bautista said.
Bautista has played tennis from the age of 6. In fact, the whole family plays the game.
``Dad wanted to give us something to fall back on,'' he said.
``If they know me at all, it's for tennis,'' said Bautista of his four years at Tallwood.
Young Bautista is not one to leave things to chance, which is the reason he applied to all four academies, despite the voluminous paperwork required.
``I wanted to make sure all my options were covered,'' he said. ``And Dad said, `Why not try for them all?' ''
Bautista ranks 11th in his class of 476. This semester he's in advanced placement classes in government, calculus, physics and honors English. While he's best at math, other academics are no problem.
``It just comes to me,'' he said with a shrug and a smile. ``I don't have to work at it that hard, but I can when necessary.''
His extracurricular activities also include Honor Society and Key Club.
Bautista said he thinks he might like to do graduate work in maritime law. But he doesn't have his future ``mapped out'' just yet. He's also interested in architecture, mechanical engineering and medicine.
Asked about himself, Bautista talked of his parents, of whom he is clearly proud. He pointed out that his mother just graduated from Norfolk State University.
``She took classes and worked,'' he said. ``At 2 a.m., I'd see her working on her books.''
And his father has set an example for him all his life, said Bautista. ``He gives us his short lines of wisdom, like, `nothing comes free - you have to earn anything.'
``I know Dad was really proud of me, because he said, `I knew you'd get it,' '' when word came of Bautista's acceptance at the four military academies.
``He was worried, but I reassured him.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Ramel Bautista, the Beach District tennis runner-up, says he might
do graduate work in maritime law. But he doesn't have his future
``mapped out'' just yet. He's also interested in architecture,
mechanical engineering and medicine. by CNB