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May 9, 2005
To Naval Academy via Kerrville

Hill Country school gives 2nd chance at being a midshipman

By JOHN W. GONZALEZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
KERRVILLE - Daniel Rocha of Tomball recently was accepted at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and he chose an unusual path to get there — through the Texas Hill Country.
When his application as a Tomball High School senior was rejected last year, he refused to give up. He enrolled last fall in the first class of Greystone Preparatory School, a tiny new entity at Schreiner University, to improve his chances of getting into the academy. And it worked.
"There was no way I wasn't getting in this year," said the 18-year-old freshman, who reports to Annapolis in June as a midshipman in the Class of 2009.
In March, when he got word from his parents and sponsoring U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, that his second application was accepted, Rocha rejoiced in fulfilling a dream he'd had since he saw Top Gun at age 12.
"I dropped the phone and fell on the floor and I just laid there about two seconds. And then I jumped up and started running laps around the office, yelling and screaming at the top of my lungs," he recalled.
Rocha said his enrollment in Greystone helped him improve his grades and test scores and hone his application package, one of about 13,000 requests for the academy's 1,200 slots. When he completes his stint at the Naval Academy, he hopes to enter the U.S. Marine Corps, which he would have joined if his second application to the academy had failed.
Rocha's course work here won't automatically transfer to the academy, but he could try to "validate," or place out, of the same courses there. He also could retake the classes with a greater likelihood of receiving good grades.
Finishing first year
The prep school, completing its first academic year, is led by David T. Bailey, a Naval Academy graduate, retired Navy commander and former academy instructor who established what he calls a unique program to benefit candidates like Rocha.
Of its initial five students, three have secured academy appointments, one awaits a decision and one was rejected, Bailey said.
Bailey said he launched the program after five years of research and consultation with the academies, recruiters, alumni and others. Participants take courses recommended by the academies — calculus, English composition, American history and chemistry.
"Those four courses are exactly in synch with what the academy first-year courses are," Bailey said.
Six days a week, students have mandatory physical training and evening study hall. They don't wear uniforms, but they are expected to look and act like academy material, Bailey said. The students take character development classes on Saturdays with Bailey, who said students also do community service and mentoring in Kerrville and San Antonio.
Naval Academy spokeswoman Judy Campbell said "getting into the Naval Academy is not easy. We seek to admit only highly motivated, well-rounded young men and women who have the potential to not only succeed at the academy but also serve as naval officers."
The academy looks at the whole person, Campbell added.
Seeking leadership
"We actively seek individuals who excel academically and have demonstrated leadership in school, their command, on the athletic field or their community. Good candidates are those who have a strong will to achieve, desire keen personal challenges and who want to serve their country as leaders in the Navy or Marine Corps."
Those who aren't accepted, but who have strong potential, are sometimes referred to the Naval Academy Prep School or a Naval Academy Foundation scholarship program that works with many prep schools and junior colleges, Campbell said. Others are "encouraged to attend a college of their choice, take classes similar to those required at the academy, score high grades in those classes and reapply," she said.
College-level work
Bailey said Greystone addresses a gap in efforts to help applicants on their second attempt. Those who begin college often receive no special support or training, he said, and those who do a fifth year of high school at a prep school may not earn college credits.
"They plateau for an entire year and the parade passes them by. That's the problem," Bailey said. "This is the only 100-percent, college-level education.
"The beautiful part is, if you don't get into the academy — because nothing's guaranteed — these kids who do go to this college-level program won't waste that year," he said.

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