ST. GEORGE — The acceptance rate for the United State Military Academy at West Point was 10 percent in 2017, with 22 percent of that being female. A Southern Utah high school student is now among that acceptance rate.
Hurricane High School senior and track team member Alexis Martin was first introduced to the prestigious school in New York when the West Point track and field high jump coach recruited her.
“After learning about the school and visiting the campus, I decided that it was something I wanted to be a part of,” Martin told St. George News. “I love everything West Point stands for.”
Martin said she understands getting into West Point is not something that happens for a lot of people, so she’s grateful for the opportunity.
As a track team member, she said what drew her to the military academy is that it requires all students to be athletes. According to the academy’s physical program, it provides a foundation for all cadets to complete core physical education coursework and physical fitness testing, as well as participate in competitive sports.
“Every day, students attend practice for one of the Core Squad teams or a club that they are a part of,” she said. “This is something about West Point that I really liked. They prioritize their focus to be first, leadership; second, academics; and third, athletics.”
Martin’s accomplishments in this priorities is what made her application to West Point stand out. In her four years of high school, she’s participated in leadership conferences, competed in sports and maintained a 4.0 grade average. She was also the president of her high school’s Hope Squad, a group of students nominated by their peers who are trained to watch for at-risk students and provide friendship, identify warning signs and seek help from adults as necessary.
However, Martin said she thinks it was one of her setbacks that put her on the path to success.
“I didn’t make the track team my freshman year,” she explained. “This is one thing that helped me get to where I am today because it motivated me to work harder to be able to make the team, and then motivated me to continue setting goals and working to achieve them.”
Martin has also served a variety of church callings for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The application process for West Point is rigorous and long, she said. West Point looks into possible cadets’ medical history and police records, as well as medical exams, eye exams and a physical test. She said she also had to apply and interview for a congressional nomination, which she received from Congressman Chris Stewart.
She also received the title of Student of the Year, as well as being awarded a scholarship from the Hurricane Valley Chamber of Commerce, and she was announced as the valedictorian for Hurricane High School’s 2019 graduating class.
Despite all her successes, a challenge Martin said she will face at West Point — where she will attend reception day on July 1 — is the competitive environment. She will be surrounded by other cadets who have worked as hard as her to be at the top of their graduating class.
“Being at this school will be a challenge in itself. Everything West Point stands for portrays excellence, so I will constantly be challenged to become a stronger leader, student and athlete.”
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