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Cadet of the Month

Cadet of the Month is specific to an extraordinary cadet who stood out in some way! Each month has a different Cadet. This page is to highlight all past Cadets of the Month and celebrate the new ones!

September

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c/CPL April Gomez

April's Awesome Summer

  • LET II - Sophmore

  • Future plans are Accounting or Engineering

Hey guys! Let me tell you about my AMAZING and EXCITING summer. One 
week after school I was on a plane going back home to a small town in Oaxaca 
in Mexico. I was super excited to go on all the trips I had planned. Seeing 
everyone again was just so emotional. The new things added to the ranch, 
animals etc… was so exciting. My first stop was Puerto Escondido Oaxaca. 
Puerto is in the southern part of Mexico, it’s a beautiful city with lots of 
beaches. I personally like going to Puerto Angelito which is a beautiful beach 
where the seafood and the burgers are the best. 

Next stop was a small town called Patria Nueva. Patria is a small town known 
for having a ¨Atotonilco” which is a thermal spring. The best part about this 
town is my grandparents live there. According to our faith you are taught to 
respect your Godmother and Godfathers parents as your own grandparents. It 
was just too hot to get into the Atotonilco which was sad but I still got to go 
visit. 

I went to graduations, baptisms, first communions ect… The food was just 
amazing! I got to eat enchiladas verde, mole de pollo (chicken) y de puerco 
(pork) and my favorite barbacoa! Did you know that in Mexico typically 
barbacoa is cooked underground. Let me explain, they dig a big hole about two 
yards wide, one yard deep, and it depends how many pots of barbacoa you will 
be cooking determines how long it is cooked underground.

Last stop, the most exciting one was Oaxaca city which was a two-day trip. On 
the first day we walked a lot. We visited churches and historic buildings. Did 
you know that Iglesia Santo Domingo is one of the most historic churches in 
Oaxaca. There I ate tlayudas which is a typical Oaxaca dish. After that we went 
shopping and bought some recuerditos (gifts) . We also got to experience a 
graduation parade which are huge parades with four or five bands divided into 
sections but still within the same crowd following it dancing and having fun.

On our second day, which was the last day (SAD). We woke up bright and 
early to start our trip to the most important part of the whole trip, Monte 
Alban. Monte Alban was the historic pyramid of los Zapotecans. This place was 
absolutely beautiful. I got to climb the pyramids. It was a workout but fun. This 
concluded my awesome summer. Two months flew by and before you knew it I 
was on a plane headed back to the United States.

August

c/CPT Annabella Amaya

Annabella's Story
When you think of France, the first thing that pops into your mind is most 
likely its capital city, Paris. Commonly known as the City of Lights, being 
the first city in Europe to use gas lighting to illuminate its streets, Paris is 
filled with remarkable landmarks such as Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the 
Eiffel Tower and is one of the top vacation spots for millions of people 
every year. But Paris isn’t the only remarkable city in France, not in the 
slightest. Though maybe not as popular as Paris, France is full of other 
cities and towns that have historical and cultural significance and this past 
May I had the privilege of visiting some of those cities and learning about 
their history. I was able to stand on the Beach of Malo-Les-Bains where the 
British and French soldiers had waited to be evacuated back to England 
during the Second World War. I also toured the Fort Des Dunes which 
played a pivotal role in the aforementioned evacuation (known as 
Operation Dynamo) and was able to listen to audio of first-hand written 
testimonies of what happened on the beach. But not all of French history 
involves wars, as is the case for the beautiful island of Mont-Saint-Michel. 
Located on France’s northwestern coast, Mont-Saint-Michel is home to the 
Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel which was built on the side of a mountain by 
the monks in 966 A.D. With beautiful views from the outside and 
impressive architecture on the inside, I have to say that the Abbey might 
have been one of my top favorite places that we visited.
One of the things I enjoyed most about visiting France was learning more 
about their culture and their way of life. I found that, while we here in 
America serve pancakes, eggs, and cereal for breakfast, the French serve 
croissants, crepes, and other such pastry foods. Although I may have eaten 
more croissants during the time I spent there than the average American 
eats in a year, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to France and hope to travel to 
more countries in the future.

  • LET IV - Senior

  • Color Guard - 4 years

  • Raiders - 4 years

  • Battalion S-1 Officer

  • Plans to attend the Naval Academy after graduation

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