A Week in Arizona

A group of midshipmen from the Midshipman Action Group is in Tuscon, Arizona this for spring break, helping the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's Boys and Girls Club with a variety of projects. 

March 15: We spent the morning with our hosts hiking about 7 miles. After our hike we checked into the Boys and Girls Club and got settled. We headed to Gates Pass to view the sunset then headed back to the Holmes Tuttle BGC for the night. Everyone was super excited to meet the kids.

March 16: We woke up at 0630 to cook breakfast for everyone. We then headed off to the Pascua Yaqui Boys and Girls Club at 0900. For the first hour we helped organize the clubhouse and clean their refrigerator. The kids started to arrive and we naturally split up into smaller groups. One group helped organize the library and the others played pool with the kids. They were amazing! We spent a lot of time outside playing basketball and enjoying the warm weather. The club itself is quite small and there isn't any room to run around. At the end of the day we decided to play a massive Capture the Flag game that got everyone involved. It was pretty intense. We headed back to the Holmes Tuttle BGC for dinner and hanging out. 

March 17: We spent the morning exploring downtown Tucson and the University of Arizona. Afterwards, we went back to the Boys and Girls Club to continue to play with the kids. They love playing pool and being outside.

March 18: We started a garden for the Boys and Girls Club. There had been a garden about 2-3 years prior but everything had been dried up so we had to start over by digging out land, putting in soil and plants, adding a fence, and figuring out the irrigation system. In the afternoon we went to the park to play field games with the kids. We noticed they lacked some equipment so we stopped at Walmart to pick up some toys. Our group is bonding extremely well and having a great time. During the evening, the entire group went out to an authentic Mexican restaurant. 

March 19: We went back to the Boys and Girls Club to finish our garden. We played a 5-on-5 basketball game with the kids and lost. We were given a tour of their home and talked about their life, social issues, and their future. We advocated for the Naval Academy and suggested looking into enlistment as well. The Boys and Girls Club was very generous and treated us to lunch. 

Mids Lend a Hand in King Hall

By MIDN 1/C Jonathan Bangsal

Because of yesterday's snow and the inability of of some staff members to get to the Yard, the King Hall staff was undermanned. The Naval Academy's Filipino-American Club, Japanese-American Club and other members of the Brigade - led by MIDN 1/C Karen Jackson - organized a working party prior to lunch to help the reduced staff efficiently feed 4,500 midshipmen.

USNA Community Relations Director Receives MLK Drum Major Award

U.S. Naval Academy Community Relations Director Miriam Stanicic received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major Award Jan. 16 at the 27th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award Dinner in Glen Burnie, Md.

The award recognizes local leaders who keep Dr. King’s dream alive through their words, deeds and their extraordinary acts of service and commitment.

Stanicic’s acceptance speech started with a quote from Dr. King, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others," Words that she lives by and imbues in the midshipmen she works with every day.

“I’m fortunate in that I get to see positive community change every day through outreach of the Naval Academy,” said Stanicic. “I am inspired through these midshipmen’s efforts.”

“She is that selfless leader that we teach Midshipmen to be,” said Marine Capt. Kenneth Tarr, Midshipmen Action Group (MAG) officer representative. “She embodies it, embraces it and shows it to everyone around her.”

As the MAG faculty representative and through her leadership, the group performed 25,000 hours of community outreach and collected more than 60,000 pounds of food for the Harvest for the Hungry program in 2014.

“I think MAG is Miriam,” said Tarr. “As her sole job at the academy is community relations, she has taken on MAG and loves everything about it. I don’t think there was a day I have seen Miriam where she hasn’t been happy and excited to be part of this organization.”

Stanicic also works with the Office of Diversity at the Naval Academy and was instrumental in connecting USNA affinity groups to their community-based counterparts in Anne Arundel County, and throughout the entire Baltimore-Washington area.

“She is the link between our office and the midshipmen that we work with, and the surrounding community of Annapolis, Baltimore, and D.C. areas,” said Steve McCartney, USNA Assistant Chief Diversity Officer. “Miriam cares so much about the Midshipmen and the community that she works with. There is a deep personal connection that she has with her work. It is not a job for her, it is so much more."

Additionally, she helped form the Midshipman Diversity Council, which brings together all affinity group brigade leaders from the Academy to share best practices and raise awareness.

“Naval Academy community engagements exemplify dedication to service in its highest forms by creating lasting relationships with all of our neighbors, a dream in keeping with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of building stronger and more equitable communities for all members of our society,” said Stanicic.

Stanicic became the USNA Community Relations Director in 2007. For the past two years, her department has been recognized as the best community relations program for a large shore command throughout the Navy, receiving the Thompson Ravitz Award for this distinction.

Founded in 1988 the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee was designed to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Anne Arundel County.

USNA Spreads Holiday Cheer in Annapolis

Midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy’s 6th Company and representatives from the Annapolis chapter of the Salvation Army gathered in Bancroft Hall Dec. 2 for the 24th annual Giving Tree lighting ceremony.

 Each year the midshipmen decorate a holiday tree in the rotunda of Bancroft Hall with paper angel ornaments provided by the Salvation Army. Each paper angel has the first name, age, gender, and wish list of an underprivileged child in the local community. Contributors can choose to remove one or more tags from the tree and purchase gifts for the child or children represented.

"The Giving Tree is another way the Brigade of Midshipmen and Naval Academy family are giving back to the local community,” said Midshipman 1st Class Manuel De La Cruz. “We are always willing to help and serve others. With the help of the Salvation Army, this Christmas season will be extra special for many children around the Annapolis area."

The academy received more than 500 angel ornaments for the tree this year. Naval Academy midshipmen, faculty, and staff will have the opportunity to spread holiday cheer to hundreds of children in the greater Annapolis area.

"As a brigade, we are eager to give back to the community in any way possible in exchange for the continuous support that we receive year-round," said Midshipman 2nd Class Riley Miller. “The happiness and joy that the Giving Tree brings are a true representation of the holiday spirit.”

After choosing an angel, the donor purchases a gift for that child and places it unwrapped under the tree. The donations will be picked up by the Salvation Army Dec. 12 to be wrapped and distributed to the children Dec. 22, just in time for the holidays.

"Being here for 18 months now, I am more and more convinced that selfless service is what defines the Brigade of Midshipmen," said Commandant of Midshipmen Capt. Bill Byrne. "Through their actions here throughout the year, they are truly being excellent."

MAG Helps Get Annapolis Students Excited About Physical Fitness

Members of the Midshipman Action Group have been working with the Mighty Milers program to help get young students excited about physical fitness.

The Mighty Milers is an after school running program sponsored by Annapolis Recreation and Parks. The 6-week program introduces elementary school students to physical fitness through after school training.

The program culminates in an annual track meet in November. The midshipmen from MAG helped train the students, and they – along with the USNA Marathon Team – helped cheer the students on during the Nov. 12 meet.

“We engaged the kids in running drills and games with the goal in mind of running a mile at the track meet,” said  MIDN 1/C Blake Hamilton. “All the kids completed their mile at the track meet.”

Visit Annapolis Recreation and Parks’ Facebook page for more photos.

Midshipmen Collect 60,504 Pounds of Food for Anne Arundel County

The Midshipman Action Group along with the Naval Academy Chaplains Office collected 60,504 pounds of food for the Anne Arundel County Food and Resource Bank during the 2014 Harvest for the Hungry Food and Funds Drive.

Harvest for the Hungry is an annual food drive sponsored by the Anne Arundel County Food and Resource Bank to help low income families with meals and other basic needs year round.

The Food and Resource Bank not only collects food but other resources like clothes, furniture and other household items to help those in need.

“One in eight families in Maryland and one in three children in Anne Arundel County are food insecure,” said Midshipman 1st Class Gabrielle Dimaapi, Harvest for the Hungry project leader.

USNA and the Midshipman Action Group partnered with Anne Arundel Public Schools for the Harvest for the Hungry: Kids Helping Kids campaign to raise money, food, supplies and awareness for those in need in Maryland. In 2013 midshipmen contributed more two thirds of the total amount of food donated to the food bank. 

MAG collected food during sporting events, held drive competitions throughout the Brigade of Midshipman, and turned the food drive into a friendly competition between companies within the brigade.

“The food drive is important to the county and Maryland. We wanted to make sure the midshipmen wanted to give so we turned it into a friendly rivalry between companies,” said Midshipmen 3rd Class Megan Rosenberger, assist Harvest for the Hungry project leader. “The midshipmen collected food all month long and throughout that month we weighed the food in King Hall at the Anchor.”

The 4th Company "Four Horsemen" won the competition with a total of 2,767 pounds of food.

A food bank truck made repeated trips to the academy to gather the food during the month of October, after learning from last year that one truck was not enough for the midshipmen.

“It is good for the midshipmen to see what they have done to help the community,” said Dimaapi. “A lot of hard work and volunteering went into making this happen and it could not have been done without the help of the brigade. They are the ones to who need to he highlighted.”

With the help of the midshipmen, the food bank distributed more than $1.6 million in food to the needy during fiscal 2013.

See more photos at the USNA Flickr site.

Midshipmen Making a Difference at Anne Arundel Medical Center

Post by MIDN 3/C Ray Hernandez

Through the coordination of the Midshipman Action Group (MAG) and the Navy Medicine Club, about 25 Naval Academy midshipmen have been selected to volunteer at the Anne Arundel Medical Center.  

To be part of this program, students are required to fill out an application.  Students chosen to participate devote three hours every other week on Fridays and Sundays to work in different departments within the hospital.

These departments include ER, Heart and Neuro, Pediatric ER, NICU, Clinical, and Patient Visitation.  Students are assigned to their departments for the whole semester.  The goal of this MAG project is to make the lives of the nurses and support staff a lot easier by assisting them with smaller tasks.

Midshipmen benefit from this training by getting exposed to a fast-paced environment, while gaining an appreciation of support services. Five out of the 25 midshipmen are from 16th Company.  MIDN 3/C Sonya Ye, of 16th Company, works specifically with the NICU department and volunteers her time doing smaller tasks such as changing diapers, doing laundry, and preparing milk bottles.

As midshipmen and students, it is difficult to do much more work on top of an already busy schedule, but MIDN Ye appreciates her ability to make the nurses and the hospital staff’s day-to-day routine even the slightest bit more fluid.  She also enjoys getting to know the faculty at Anne Arundel, as well as the long term patients.

The Midshipman Action Group volunteered over 24,000 hours of service during the last academic year.  They spearhead efforts such as Harvest for the Hungry food drive, Mids for Kids and the 2014 bone marrow registration drive.

USNA Opens the 2014 Combined Federal Campaign Giving Season

Post by CDR William Swick

The 2014 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) giving season officially opened Oct. 6 and will run until Dec. 5.

The mission of the CFC, which was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, is to promote and support philanthropy through a program that is employee-focused, cost-efficient, and effective in providing all federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all. In 2013, the USNA campaign raised $200,000 for charitable causes around the world.  This year’s goal is $300,000.

 Why Should I Contribute?

The CFC belongs to you. You control where your gift will go. CFC provides DoD personnel a safe and secure means to “pay it forward” and make a difference in the lives of those in need.

The three Cs of giving:

Choice - You get to direct your pledge to the organizations that are closest to your interests. More than 4,000 are listed in the Giving Guide that you can choose from: http://www.cbacfc.org/index.php/component/edocman/giving-guide/edocman-sef-document-download

Convenience - Workplace giving has advantages. Through the MyPay payroll deduction, you can give more while only having a small amount deducted from each paycheck. Cash, checks and credit card donations are also accepted. Giving is easy via MyPay: http://www.cbacfc.org/index.php/component/edocman/mypay-donor-pledging/edocman-sef-document-download

Confidence - Each charity is federally screened. Through the outstanding oversight efforts, less than 10 percent of the funds are spent on campaign materials, training volunteers, and auditing contributions. Because this cost is so low compared with other fundraising campaigns, every dollar of your pledge goes a very long way toward helping others.

You don’t have to go far to find people in need. Many of your family members, friends and neighbors benefit from the services of charities participating in the CFC. Whether it’s advances in medicine provided by research, support for our aging parents, disaster assistance or the opportunity for a child to participate in after school programs, everyone has something to gain by supporting the campaign.  It is on us. Together we will make a difference.

Contact your local CFC representative or CDR Swick for further information.

http://www.cbacfc.org/

Midshipman Action Group Honored for Record Donation

Post by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyler Caswell

The Anne Arundel County Food and Resource Bank honored the U.S. Naval Academy’s Midshipman Action Group (MAG) for contributing more than 61,000 pounds of food during the 2013 Harvest for the Hungry Food and Funds Drive.

Mr. Bruce Michalec (left), director of the Anne Arundel County Food Bank gives
a plaque of recognition to Ensign Soon Kwon, Midshipman 1st Class Gabby
DiMaapi, and Midshipman 3rd Class Megan Rosenberger for their work with
the 2013 Harvest for the Hungry campaign.

The Maryland Department of Education-sponsored campaign encourages donations of money and food to help families in need of assistance. The median income for people in the workforce of Anne Arundel County is $41,876 and when that amount is tied to the Maryland self sufficiency standard of $58,048, there remains a gap of $16,172.

In the last six years, Anne Arundel County has contributed the most donations of all the state’s counties, and MAG contributed more than two-thirds of the 91,000 pounds collected in 2013.

“Maryland has more than 28,000 people who are food insufficient, a third of those being children,” said Teresa Tudor, Harvest for the Hungry coordinator. “The amount of food Midshipmen collected truly helped thousands of families make sure they could feed their children every meal. We would not be as successful without the partnership with USNA and the Midshipman Action Group.”

MAG collected food during sporting events, held drive competitions throughout the Brigade of Midshipman, and brought last year’s total donation to more than donations from 2011 and 2012  combined.

“Midshipmen sacrifice their limited free time to give back to the community.” said Ensign Soon Kwon, a 2013 USNA graduate who coordinated last year’s drive. “In addition to volunteering to serve their country, Midshipmen are giving more than what anyone has asked for by volunteering and donating.”

With one of the harshest winters on record, MAG engaged the brigade and Naval Academy chaplains to collect record donations of food to replenish food bank shelves for those most in need in the community.

“It was a season when the shelves were bare due to weather-related need and a county-wide drop in food donations,” said Miriam Stanicic, USNA’s community relations director. “Stepping in to fill that food gap was the goal that was set and met by the Naval Academy family with tremendous food deliveries, truckload after truckload. Service to the community at large is what the Naval Academy is all about.”

After a week of trucks transporting food from USNA, MAG contributions largely filled the Food Resource Bank’s 3,750 sq. foot facility.

“When the Anne Arundel County Food Bank said that the total food collected at the Naval Academy filled half of their large facility, Midshipmen were proud that more families in Anne Arundel County had the opportunity to receive more food than the years before,” said Kwon.

MAG will continue its efforts by supporting the Harvest for the Hungry: Kids Helping Kids Campaign which is slated to run from Oct. 13 through Oct. 31. For more information visit www.aacps.org.

USNA Mid Featured in Smithsonian Exhibit

A Naval Academy midshipman is featured in an exhibit that opened Sep. 3 at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

The exhibit honors the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Wilderness Act, and Midshipman 3rd Class Jose Arroyo’s experience working in the wilderness illustrates what the Smithsonian is calling “Human Connections with Nature.”

Arroyo grew up in Yonkers, New York. He was assigned to a Child and Family Services caseworkers for most of his life, attended multiple schools, even spending part of his childhood homeless. As a high school teenager looking for work, he got a job with Groundwork Hudson Valley and spent a summer building trails in Virginia and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. His work led him to a youth conference near Pike’s Peak in Colorado.

The experience changed him and set him on a new path of service and wilderness stewardship.

The following summer he worked with the Wilderness Society’s Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards, using hand tools to repair wilderness trails in the mountains of North Carolina. As a result of his work, he was asked to go to Washington D.C. to speak to members of Congress about environmental legislation and how to get kids in the cities involved in the natural world.

Arroyo entered the Naval Academy in July 2013 after a year at the Naval Academy Preparatory School. 

“This exhibit is showing this is something that happened to this kid from an urban setting. This is what the 1964 Wilderness Act has done, here’s one of the things it’s accomplished,” said Arroyo.

Arroyo tells a story about his experience climbing Pike’s Peak and how it changed his outlook.

“I was the only one out of all the youth who climbed it. I got to the top and saw a sunset, and I was reflecting on my life and looking at absolute beauty. I can’t really explain it. It was just a feeling,” he said.

When he came back east and saw some of the exploitation of that wilderness, Arroyo said it broke his heart.

“That’s why I’m so passionate about it,” he said.

The exhibit, which features wilderness photographs selected from more than 5,000 public entries, will run until summer 2015.

You can learn more about Midshipman Arroyo’s story in this video by the Wilderness Society.

USNA Mids Swab to Save Lives

The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) hosted a bone marrow registry drive Sept. 18, collecting 2,014 new registrations into the C.W. Bill Young DoD Marrow Donor Program.

Midshipmen from the Medical STEM extracurricular activity organized the bone marrow drive on campus with the assistance of the Midshipman Action Group.

Midshipmen, staff, faculty and family members volunteered to enter their DNA, collected from a cotton Q-tip cheek swab, into the National Marrow Donor Registry so to be available as a potential match for someone in need of a life-saving transplant. Within the first hour, there were approximately 1,250 new registrations in the program.

"This bone marrow registry drive is yet another example of the great things midshipmen do," said Cmdr. John Schofield, USNA public affairs officer, a registrant in the program and former bone marrow donor. "This entire effort was conceived and run by them. It is a testament to their caring and dedication. As a former bone marrow donor, I truly hope we get as many people as possible into the registry. It makes a difference."

The swab samples are sent to the C.W. Bill Young Donor Center in Rockville, Maryland, for testing and registration. It is here that the DNA information is coded and stored in the Defense Department and National Marrow Donor Program registries.

"We set up a good cause but on a deeper level we provided an emotional movement for the Brigade which was evident in our success," said Midshipman 1st Class Riley Miller.

The 2,014 entries into the registry set a USNA record for most collections in a single day.

"As leaders of true character and positive impact, midshipmen imagine great outcomes for those in need and they execute bold plans to achieve a better future for their communities; so too today with the Brigade-wide C.W. Bill Young DOD Bone Marrow Drive," said Miriam Stanicic, USNA community relations director. "Being excellent is innate to the Brigade, as witnessed by the very high number of donor samples collected in just one day."

The C.W. Bill Young DoD Marrow Donor Center, has been in operation since 1991 and works exclusively with military personnel and their dependents, DoD civilian employees, Reservists, and Coast Guard and National Guard members to facilitate marrow and stem cell donations.

According to the center, more than 12,000 people are diagnosed each year with diseases that require an infusion of stem cells. More than 70 percent of blood cancer patients are unable to find an appropriate match within their own family and will require an unrelated donor.

USNA Midshipmen Participate in the National Day of Service

Post by MC2 Jonathan Correa

The U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman Action Group paid tribute to those lost in the 9/11 terrorist attacks during a ceremony at the Maryland World War II Memorial in Annapolis, Maryland, Sept. 13.

 More than 100 midshipmen took part in the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance, a day that was established as a way to remember and pay tribute to the 9/11 victims, survivors and those who rose up in response to the attacks through community service.

In 2009, Congress designated it under law.

After the ceremony, the midshipmen spent the day helping to clean up the memorial and Jonas Green State Park along the Severn River.

"Serving those who served and growing our own model of service is the life we have chosen as midshipmen," said Midshipman 2nd Class Zachary Dannelly, the coordinator for the event.

Retired Army Col. Ken McCreedy was the keynote speaker at the ceremony, calling on the midshipmen to recommit to the call to service. After his speech and a moment of silence, midshipmen picked up trash, planted flowers and trees, cleaned up weeds, trimmed hedges and moved rocks back alongside the ditches.

"This is more than just serving the environment," said Dannelly. "It is serving all the veterans, who have come from Maryland, by cleaning up the War World II Memorial."

The memorial pays tribute to the more than 287,000 sons and daughters of Maryland who answered the call of duty, nearly 6,500 of whom gave their lives.

For many midshipmen, it was inspiring to see others taking part in this event.

"I think this event was a great time for us. I know it was for me," said Midshipmen 1st Class Megan Lewis. "To see how many dedicated their time to serve shows how much they care and how much this day means to them."

"For me the reason I came to the USNA and the reason I chose to serve is that I wanted to give back," said Dannelly. "I know being born in the U.S. is the biggest blessing you can ever have, and I really think that having the opportunity to serve like this, to serve at the World War II Memorial and for the 9/11 Day of Service, really brings it back to why we were able to wake up this morning in a free country."

Follow more MAG events at https://www.facebook.com/MidshipmanActionGroup. 

Naval Academy Mids Mentor Middle School Girls

Post by Jessica Clark. USNA Public Affairs

Two midshipmen had a unique opportunity to apply the leadership skills they’ve been taught as part of the U.S. Naval Academy curriculum while giving back to a community in need.

Midshipmen 1st Class Paige Rutkoske and Alyssa Randell spent nearly three weeks at the Sisters Academy in Asbury Park, N.J., teaching and mentoring sixth-grade girls.

Sisters Academy is a program of Mercy Center dedicated to educating girls in an academically challenging and disciplined learning environment. The goal of the program is to provide girls from economically challenged families access to private high school and college education.

A Naval Academy alumnus contacted the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association to see if he could get midshipmen to come to the school to help mentor the students and "provide role models that they're not seeing in their everyday lives," said Lt. Erica Reid-Dixon of the academy’s Leadership, Development and Research Department.

With the guidance of Naval Academy faculty and staff, the midshipmen developed a lesson plan that encompassed science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects as well as leadership instruction in which the students learned about group dynamics, communication and team building.

Each day, the midshipmen were required to reflect on how the experience helped shape their own leadership development and report to Reid-Dixon on their progress toward the goals they defined prior to the trip to New Jersey.

“I learned how to take control and get others to follow my instructions while keeping them engaged,” said Rutkoske. “I learned a lot about my leadership style and how I work with others.”

The midshipmen also had goals for how they wanted to directly impact the students.

“I wanted to see the students think outside the box on ways to reach a solution or think about a problem,” said Rutkoske. “They all met and exceeded my expectations.”

“The Sisters Academy students have succeeded in so many ways, despite the disadvantages of their backgrounds, and a lot of that has to do with the leadership of the school. Now the midshipmen are part of that process,” said Reid-Dixon.

Rutkoske hopes the program will continue to be an option for midshipmen summer training.

“It has been a valuable aspect of development in becoming a more successful leader. It helped with time management, working on the fly, rolling with the punches and tailoring how I wanted to teach someone based on their personality,” she said. “I would definitely recommend this program to other midshipmen.”