Loading

Front & Center News from Fork Union Military Academy – January 6, 2023

Subscribe to Front & Center

Learn what's happening on the campus of Fork Union Military Academy by subscribing to Front & Center. You'll receive regular updates on the news, special events, and success stories from our Corps of Cadets, conveniently delivered to your inbox for easy viewing on your computer, tablet, or mobile phone.

Want to view past issues of the Front & Center newsletter? Find them all on our website.

It's Time to Schedule Senior & Cadet Portraits!

Schedule your senior and cadet portraits TODAY with Kristin Firewicz Studios!

Kristin Firewicz Studios is our authorized vendor to provide custom cadet portrait services. If you are looking to get some outstanding custom portraits of your cadet, just contact Kristin Firewicz. Learn more on her website or find her on Instagram at @KRISTINFIREWICZ

Stories in this issue:

  • Welcome Back & Let's Go!
  • Honor Roll for Term 2 of the 2022-2023 School Year
  • This Week's College Acceptances
  • Fork Union is Accepting Applicants for the 2023 Trustee Scholarship
  • COL Houston Eldridge Recognized as Teacher of the Term for Term 2
  • Hadley White (FUMA '20) Returns to Campus to Speak to Cadets about The Citadel
  • Bravo Zulu Awards
  • Upcoming Admissions Events
  • Do you want to be a part of our Cadet Corps?
Do your shopping with Amazon Smile and support Fork Union Military Academy! It's easy!

A Message from Colonel Coggins...

Welcome Back and Let's Go!

Welcome back and let's go!

As we began Term 3 this week...start out in a great way! Have a positive mental attitude.

Things you can do to succeed: work hard, have patience, and have faith.

God bless you and best wishes as you start Term 3. Follow the rules. Help others and be kind. Let us know if you need help. We care.

Go FUMA!

In Christ, Colonel David L. Coggins, USMC (Ret.) |President | Fork Union Military Academy

Honor Roll for Term 2 of the 2022-2023 School Year

Cadets who perform well academically in their class studies each grading term, receiving grades of B- or better as their final grade for the term, are named to the Honor Roll by COL Mike Goad, the Academic Dean of Fork Union Military Academy.

Here is the Honor Roll for Term 2 of the 2022-2023 academic year:

Grade: 7

  • Everett Amos
  • Aditya Bhattacharjee
  • Ever Castillo Vecino
  • Domninic Jackson
  • Tristan Townley
  • Kebron Zulla

Grade: 8

  • Jayden Anderson
  • Braden Arenella
  • Milo Bello
  • Nico Brown
  • Kellen Colevas
  • Luke Curry
  • Samuel Duncan
  • David Eaton
  • Noah Foley
  • Alex Gibson
  • Cameron Gray
  • Christian Lopez
  • Joshua McGuire
  • Ronan Montes
  • Matthew Spittle
  • Kadin Stremlau
  • Johnathon Wooten, Jr.
  • Jordan Zerkle

Grade: 9

  • Theophilus Aberra
  • Emmanuel Adeyinka
  • Shane Balzano
  • Eugene Belozerov
  • Robert Callahan
  • Christopher Chadwell
  • Colton Childers
  • Nicholas Coleman
  • Timothy Costa
  • Francisco Duarte
  • Haggai Dulo, Jr.
  • David Gawron
  • Luc Havens
  • Nathaniel Hopkins
  • Selah Houston
  • Adam Hylton
  • Val Kelestyn
  • Isaiah McDaniel
  • Yannick McLean
  • Matthias Moyer
  • Josue Mukendi
  • Christian Mukhisa
  • Emmanuel Neba
  • Kian Perez
  • Michael Preston
  • Chrysander Rahardjo
  • Bryant Ray
  • Ellis Roberts
  • Dave Rosado
  • Jimmy Sa Said
  • Joseph Schnurman
  • Jackson Sereno
  • Caden Sibley
  • Gabriel Sowunmi
  • Travis Tran
  • Brandon Verser

Grade: 10

  • Daley Adams
  • Joseph Athey
  • Shuliang Cai
  • Dreylan Creasy
  • Benedict Deemer
  • Antwan Dunmyer
  • Leland Edwards
  • Ian Egbert
  • Josiah Goodwin-Hamlin
  • Miles Graybill
  • Joshua Greene
  • Reno Griggs
  • James Hu
  • Sean Hurley
  • William Jacoby
  • Josiah Johnson
  • Philippe Lianavwa, Jr.
  • Jake Nichols
  • Jihwan Park
  • John Parks
  • Niv Patel
  • James Phillips
  • Moses Rattin
  • Levi Wikoff
  • Nicholas Willis
  • Joaquin Yescas

Grade: 11

  • Christopher Acosta-Serrano
  • Jonie-Galton Ansah
  • Ayden Bland
  • Jaxon Brooks-Powell
  • Lucian Brucker
  • Benjamin Burtram
  • Jacob Clodfelter
  • John Cottey III
  • Sebastian Espino Jimenez, Jr.
  • Jonathan Farmer
  • Jayden Ginty
  • Seth Groelz
  • George Gurney
  • Laith Haddad
  • Phillip Johnson
  • Benjamin Jones
  • Rhys Lawrence
  • Juan Leyva Saavedra
  • Tyler Manglicmot
  • Nehemiah Mayuga
  • Aaron McDaniel
  • Hunter McDonnell
  • Ian McHarg
  • Tucker Miller
  • Everett Mitchell
  • Harry Momolu
  • Kelvin Montesinos
  • Brady Moring
  • Dawud Muhammad
  • Daouda Niang
  • Cameron Oppenheim
  • David Owen
  • Thinh Pham
  • Jaydn Pieron
  • Pranav Puchakayala
  • Jayden Robbins
  • Clayton Rosen
  • Dylan Rwagasana
  • Ethan Schroyer
  • Matthew Snyder
  • Elijah Stanley
  • Isaiah Stewart
  • Jackson Stewart
  • Kameron Taylor
  • Emanuel Teklu
  • William Vasko
  • Yonas Wilcox
  • Anthony Wiseman

Grade: 12

  • Jordan Anderson
  • Jeremiah Baston
  • George Boitano
  • Charles Campbell
  • James Clarke
  • Kendall Coard
  • Jace Corbett
  • Maurizio D'Alessandro
  • Minh Dao
  • Grant Demorro
  • Ousmane Dieng
  • Jackson Edwards
  • Justin Fraser
  • Lance Gowans
  • Sean Hall
  • Chayse Hill
  • Jai Johnson
  • Damarre Joseph
  • Dominic Lancey
  • Wesley Lay
  • Maddax Lee
  • Michael Lenherr
  • Thomas Manganiello
  • Michael Marandure
  • Trenton Maxwell
  • Jack McCall
  • Charles Moore
  • Devan Moore
  • Matthew Moore
  • Nicholas Petrillo
  • Jackson Pretus
  • Isaac Rivera
  • James Robinson
  • Jacob Seymore
  • Ahmad Shah
  • Peter Signorino
  • Tug Sodbaatar
  • Copeland Spearman
  • Mason Stayments
  • Ethan Stroh
  • Francisco Toral-Munoz
  • Matthew Vinso
  • Lucas Yates

Grade: PG

  • Austin Airey
  • Jamil Anderson, Jr.
  • Donovan Backus
  • Brandon Bell
  • Broc Bender
  • Cyrus Boggs
  • Russell Branch
  • Larry Bulluck
  • Liam Carrick
  • Christopher Cochran
  • William Curran
  • Hysan Dalton
  • Donald Douglass III
  • Mathias Ferebee
  • Carter Gaskins
  • John Gilbert
  • Kevin Glenn, Jr.
  • Edixon Gomez Blanco
  • Angel Grant
  • Kye'Ali Hale
  • Justin Harris
  • Marquise Hughes
  • Louis Jones III
  • Tion Jules
  • Guensley Jusme
  • Dylan Kirby
  • Joseph Landicini
  • Marius Landsfeld
  • Lawrence Martin, Jr.
  • Nicholas Martin
  • Elyjah Mitchell
  • Gary Morningstar III
  • James Morrow, Jr.
  • Lathan Morse
  • Carmelo Pacheco
  • Jaylen Perry
  • Miguel Rijo
  • Cameron Rountree
  • Timothy Scott, Jr.
  • Trelon Slade
  • Jaden Stewart
  • Micah Tarry
  • Brian Uihlein, Jr.
  • Mitchell Viviano
  • Dominique Washington
  • Kamaree Wells
  • Aidan Williams

Congratulations, gentlemen!

This Week's College Acceptances

It's that time of year again when our seniors get the exciting news of college acceptances!

Our goal each year is that 100% of our seniors gain college acceptance, and the Class of 2023 is already on track to achieve that goal. Our seniors are working hard with the College Placement and Academic Services team under the leadership of the department's Director, Kelsey Hill, and the Assistant Director, Dr. James Benson.

Check out this week's acceptances!

Congratulations, gentlemen!

Fork Union is Accepting Applicants for the 2023 Trustee Scholarship

Fork Union Military Academy's Board of Trustees offers the prestigious Trustee Scholarship to new students entering the 8th, 9th, or 10th grade, which awards a full scholarship for tuition, room & board, and initial uniform issue. Families are responsible only for payment of certain required student fees such as technology fee and infrastructure fee.

This scholarship is very competitive and is awarded to the candidate that best demonstrates excellence in scholastic achievement, character, and citizenship.

The scholarship award continues for each year the student remains in good standing at Fork Union Military Academy.

The deadline for 2023 applicants is March 1, 2023. The Application for Admission, Financial Aid Application, and Scholarship Application must be completed and received by the March 1 deadline.

To learn more about the Trustee Scholarship, click the link below:

COL Houston Eldridge Recognized as Teacher of the Term for Term 2

Fork Union Military Academy congratulates COL Houston Eldridge for being named Teacher of the Term for Term 2 of the 2022-2023 academic year. Cadets submit nominations for the Teacher of the Term at the conclusion of each grading term. The cadet nominations are reviewed and evaluated by the Teacher of the Term/Year Committee, which is comprised of non-academic staff members. After considering cadet nominations, the Committee announces the Teacher of the Term.

Eldridge has been working at the Academy since 1999, starting as a Social Studies teacher. After several years as the Chairman of the Social Studies Department from 2007-2016, he served as the Director of Character and Leadership for four year. In 2017, the Academy named Eldridge the Commandant of Cadets, a position he held until 2019.

Eldridge returned to the classroom in the spring of 2021, teaching one course in US History. He then taught two terms of US Government last year.

For Term 2, Eldridge taught US Government and will teach Leadership & Ethics for Term 3.

COL Eldridge received nominations that stated:

"He takes time with us students, listens to us, considers how we feel and always has us smiling. He tells us his stories to learn life lessons. He shows us traits to use for us being good men. He is my No. 1 role model and I know I could depend on him for any help."

"COL E is one of the best teachers I have had. He is not only a good and firm authority, but he also makes his classes interesting and easy going. He is a great teacher and even better person."

"He takes extra time to help us learn. He grades fairly and truly looks out for all of us."

Congratulations, COL Eldridge!

Hadley White (FUMA '20) Returns to Campus to Speak to Cadets about The Citadel

Returning to Wicker Chapel about two-and-a-half years following his graduation from Fork Union Military Academy in the Class of 2022, alumnus Hadley White took to the podium to speak with cadets about his experience as a current cadet at The Citadel in South Carolina.

Introduced by LTC Tony Moss, Fork Union's Commandant of Cadets and a graduate himself of The Citadel, White made a brief presentation to cadets during their 10:30-11:00am break and answered questions from interested cadets.

Bravo Zulu Award Winners

for December 16, 2022

Every Friday the Fork Union Military Faculty and Staff meet to nominate a few who have exceeded the standards and demonstrated superlative performance. Whilst we have various awards and recognitions - a simple "Well Done!" we hope, is also appreciated. The combination of the Bravo and Zulu nautical signal flags, i.e., Bravo Zulu, also referred to as "BZ," is a naval signal, typically conveyed by flag hoist or voice radio, meaning "Well Done" with regard to actions, operations or performance.

The following are the Bravo Zulu awards for the final week of 2022:

Cadet Captain Matthew Vinso is a senior and second-year cadet on the Corps Battalion Staff. He is a boarding student from Stafford, VA. Over the past two weeks, Cadet Vinso volunteered his support at our Social Center to assist with special events. This shows great credit on his part and his genuine Mission First view over his personal time. Bravo Zulu, Cadet Vinso!

Cadet Corporal Nic Willis is a tenth grader and first-year cadet in Bravo Company. He is a boarding student from Ellicott City, MD. Cadet Willis showed advanced leadership initiative to meet with each new leader in the company to ensure they knew their responsibilities and were equipped to carry them out. Additionally, he assisted in conducting companywide room inspections to ensure excellent rooms prior to Christmas break. Bravo Zulu, Cadet Willis!

Cadet Sergeant Jackson Sereno is a ninth grader and second-year cadet in Charlie Company. He is a boarding student from Haymarket, VA. Cadet Sereno took it upon himself to clean the cadet areas of the dining facility by himself. He cleaned all three serving bars, wiped down all the tables from every company, placed all the chairs on the tables, and swept the area. He personally ensured that the dining facility looked amazing. His selflessness and pride in maintaining the excellence of the Fork Union facilities is a testament to his character. Bravo Zulu, Cadet Sereno!

Cadet Staff Sergeant Selah Houston is a ninth grader and second-year cadet in HSC. He is a boarding student from Troy, MI. Cadet Houston stepped up to cover a fellow cadet’s role as Platoon Sergeant in his absence. Cadet Houston’s honesty and well-mannered demeaner helped to ensure his success in this position. Further, he went above and beyond to identify shortfalls within the platoon and worked hard to correct them. His leadership is a testament to his character. Bravo Zulu, Cadet Houston!

Captain Michael Head, Social Studies Instructor & Head Debate Coach, has led the revitalization of the FUMA Debate program. Captain Head has entered the debate team in various independent meets across the state, allowing our cadets the opportunity to compete in the Student Congress and Lincoln-Douglas events. Last weekend, Captain Head—who lead FUMA to two Student Congress state championships in 2016 and 2017—helped coach the debate team to an impressive performance at the University of Lynchburg, where several cadets placed in the top five of their respective categories. Captain Head and his team are recognized for their hard work and dedication. Bravo Zulu, Captain Head!

Cadet Ethan Schroyer, Ms. Regina Delman, Mr. Jose Rodriguez, Mrs. Jackie Montero-Sharpe, and Ms. Liz Zito, volunteered their time to plan a Christmas gathering in the Social Center for our cadets last weekend. Cadet Schroyer led the effort, and the staff graciously assisted to ensure our young men were able to celebrate together before Christmas break. Bravo Zulu, Cadet Schroyer, Ms. Delman, Mr. Rodriguez, Mrs. Montero-Sharpe, and Ms. Zito!

COL John Shuman, Athletic Director, has served FUMA for many years and this is his last full week as AD before entering a new role in our Development Department. We are thankful for his work ethic and the expertise he brought to the position. On 7 December, COL Shuman received the 2022 Touchdown Club of Richmond’s Ray Tate Lifetime Achievement award. We are excited to see the value he will bring in his new role. Bravo Zulu, COL Shuman!

Go FUMA! | Colonel David L. Coggins, USMC (Ret.) | President | Fork Union Military Academy

Upcoming Admissions Events

The best way to learn about Fork Union Military Academy is to schedule an appointment with our Admissions Office and come for a family visit and receive your own individual tour of the campus.

We also schedule a number of Admissions Fairs in various cities and regions throughout the year.

Monday, February 20 | Open House

  • Come meet with our Admissions team and see our beautiful campus during our Open House on President's Day! The Open House begins at 9:00 am in the Wicker Chapel.

Do you want to be a part of our Cadet Corps?

Are you a young man in the 7th to 12th grade? Do you want to be a man known for integrity, respect for yourself and others, faith, character, and discipline?

We encourage you to fill out an application for enrollment and join our cadets here at Fork Union Military Academy.

Created By
Kelly Barnette
Appreciate

Credits:

Photos by: Kelly Barnette, Kristin Firewicz, Kelsey Hill & James Benson.