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.
Stories in this issue:
- Congratulations to the Teacher of Term 4
- Term 4 Honor Roll Announced
- Have You Ordered Your Skirmisher?
- Seventh-Graders Place in the Patriot's Pen Essay Contest
- Photos of the Annual Ring Ceremony
- College Acceptances
- Photos of a Night to Remember at the Military Ball
- Parent & Alumni Notes
- Upcoming Admissions Events
- Bravo Zulu Awards
- Do you want to be a part of our Cadet Corps?
CPT Jarrett Hopewell Recognized as Teacher of the Term for Term 4
Fork Union Military Academy congratulates CPT Jarrett Hopewell for being named Teacher of the Term 4 of the 2021-2022 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.
CPT Hopewell is in his first year at the Academy and taught Spanish I during Term 4. He is a graduate of the University of Montana with a bachelor’s degree in Classical Languages and later received his master’s in Linguistics.
Outside of the classroom, CPT Hopewell assists with Retan Rifles.
CPT Hopewell received nominations that stated:
"He is an incredible teacher who cares about his students. He always finds a way to make class fun. He is just an all-around good guy who is very nice."
"CPT Hopewell makes class interesting every single day with different varieties of learning resources. He gives us extra time, helps us when we need it, and uses a variety of resources that help us understand the topic better and even makes it fun while we are engaged in learning. CPT Hopewell stays in his classroom most of the week during CQ preparing his lesson plans for the next day and offers to help with any homework or any other assignments that we would need help with."
Congratulations, CPT Hopewell!
Honor Roll for Term 4 of the 2021-2022 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 4 of the 2021-2022 academic year:
7th Grade
- Jayden Anderson
- Nico Brown
- Jaden Harris
- Jeremy Herron
- Cole Morris
- Kadin Stremlau
- Andrew Wade
8th Grade
- Theophilus Aberra
- Mason Alston
- Neil Bayley
- Eugene Belozerov
- Robert Callahan
- Christopher Chadwell
- Colton Childers
- Nicholas Coleman
- Elias Fudge
- Nathaniel Hopkins
- Val Kelestyn
- Braeden Kelly
- Ishan Kumar
- Emmanuel Neba
- Ellis Roberts
- Jimmy Sa Said
- Jackson Sereno
- Iker Serrano
- Travis Tran
- William Twetten
9th Grade
- Rajveer Ahluwalia
- Joseph Athey
- Matthew Chapman
- Clayton Dunaway
- Leland Edwards
- Daniel Firewicz
- Isaac Gilman
- Aidan Good
- Miles Graybill
- Luc Havens
- Sean Hurley
- Anthony Molina Iraheta
- Sean Orth
- Jihwan Park
- Niv Patel
- Lucas Shomaker
- William Stimson
- Vu Tran
- Joaquin Yescas
10th Grade
- Christopher Acosta-Serrano
- Jonie-Galton Ansah
- Aaron Bays-Clark
- Fritzner Black
- Jaxon Brooks-Powell
- Lucian Brucker
- Jacob Clodfelter
- John Cottey III
- Robert Crippen
- Daniel Desulme
- Seth Groelz
- George Gurney
- Laith Haddad
- Oghenetejiri Idudu
- Tyler Manglicmot
- Aidan McCants
- Hunter McDonnell
- Everett Mitchell
- Kelvin Montesinos
- Daouda Niang
- Cameron Oppenheim
- John Parks
- Thinh Pham
- Colin Reynolds
- Virgil Ryland
- Ethan Schroyer
- Diego Serrano
- Emanuel Teklu
- William Vasko
- Elan Warll
- Arkiliz Zavala
11th Grade
- Jordan Anderson
- Aiden Bailey
- Jeremiah Baston
- Ayden Bland
- George Boitano
- Mace Brindley
- Charles Campbell
- Kendall Coard
- Diego Cofino Paiz
- Jace Corbett
- Minh Dao
- Dalton Davis
- Grant Demorro
- Ousmane Dieng
- Philip DiLorenzo
- Justin Fraser
- Lance Gowans
- Sean Hall
- Samson Hauler
- Reagan Hayes
- Tzu-Heng Hung
- Damarre Joseph
- Ashton King
- Ilya Kurin
- Dominic Yancey
- Wesley Lay
- Michael Lenherr
- Kuchjack Mabeny
- Thomas Manganiello
- Michael Marandure
- Trenton Maxwell
- Matthew Moore
- Christopher Mulder
- Nicholas Petrillo
- Braden Piersol
- Jackson Pretus
- Isaac Rivera
- James Robinson
- Oscar Sa Zacarias-Bendek
- Nicholas Sasser
- Alibek Saurambayev
- Ahmad Shah
- Pierce Shedeck
- Dino Siervo
- Peter Signorino
- Tugsbilguun Sodbaatar
- Francisco Solino-Villacampa
- Copeland Spearman
- Mason Stayments
- Ethan Stroh
- Matthew Vinso
- Lucas Yates
12th Grade
- Giancarlo Antunes
- Nhyiraba Asumadu Addo
- Tobias Atkins
- Daniel Bartsevich
- Christian Beale
- Mason Bligen
- John Bowdish
- Isaiah Burel
- ZaQuan Cagle
- Jaden Carter
- Mitchell Coe
- Pierce Collum
- Sa’eed Dasher
- Gavin Demorro
- Maxwell Dumas
- Nathan Gomes
- Eric Jones
- Dominic Julius
- Dominique Julius
- Kenton King
- Kris King
- Michael Luce
- Robel Lulseged
- Jackson Mayo
- Kieran Meyer
- Grayson Mitchell
- Zachary Piper
- Jesse Plese
- Dominic Primavera
- Sabastian Quinteros
- Connor Smith
- Gary Smith
- Austin Storm
- Massimo Swail
- Carlos Taylor
- Peter Twetten
- Cameron Wallace
- Alexander Wills
- Steven Zaitsev
Postgraduate
- Damir Borders
- Xzavaier Hawkins
- Morgan Hyman
- Sean Lovely, Jr.
- Zakari McQueen
- James Moore
- Tye Thompson
Congratulations, gentlemen!
Stremlau, Morris Place in Top Three of the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest
Seventh-graders Kadin Stremlau and Cole Morris placed in the top three of the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest, the VFW of Louisa announced this past week. Stremlau place first in the competition, while Morris took third place.
Each year in October, MAJ David Mitchell helps his seventh-grade students enter the contest, which requires a 400-word essay expressing their views based on the patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief. This year’s theme was “How Can I Be a Good American?”
Stremlau is the son of Kelly Stremlau of McAllen, Texas. Morris is the son of Amber Townsend of Scottsville, Virginia.
Congratulations, Kadin and Cole!
Have You Ordered Your Skirmisher?
Don't forget to reserve your copy of the school's yearbook, The Skirmisher, from Jostens for this year! Go to jostens.com/2022yearbook or click the button below. Don't delay, do it today.
Parent & Alumni Notes
Advancement to Hold Annual Decades Challenge!
Revisit good, old-fashioned cadet vs. cadet competition, and the bragging rights that go with it!
We are excited to present our 1st annual Decades Challenge! Compete to see which decade of alumni can both donate the most money and have the highest percentage of participation. 100% of gifts will support our Access Scholarships. Visit https://www.givecampus.com/p15rua to find your decade and accept the challenge!!
Alumni Weekend Registration Open!
Get ready to REVISIT, REFLECT, RECONNECT, and REDO the reunion you missed out on!
Mark your calendars for April 29th - May 1st for our biggest reunion to date! We'll be celebrating three years' worth of reunions in ONE WEEKEND! We're so excited to be able to come together again, and we can't wait to see you back on Fork Union's campus.
Visit www.forkunion.com/alumniweekend for hotel information, schedule of events, and to register!
Please submit your reenrollment documents for the 2022-2023 academic year!
May 31st is the deadline to submit your reenrollment contract and pay your registration fee for the next school year. If you have any questions, please email our admissions team at admissions@fuma.org.
Summer School 2022
If you are interested in enrolling your cadet to Summer School, please contact the admissions office at admissions@fuma.org. Please note that all cadets will have met with Mrs. Kelsey Hill before the end of the school year to discuss their schedule for 2022-2023.
Does your cadet want to go to Italy?
Fork Union Military Academy cadets have the opportunity to pay their way to Italy with Explorica Educational Tours in December 2022! Ms. Regina Delman will be holding an informational meeting in the Wicker Chapel on May 6 at 11:00 AM. Any parent interested in their cadet joining the trip should come to the meeting. The meeting will be live streamed for those who cannot attend.
Academy Day set for April 23
Senator Mark Warner invites high school and middle school students, their parents or guardians, and school counselors to Academy Day 2022: April 23 from 1000-1230. Attendees will have the opportunity to join virtual breakout sessions with representatives from the United States service academies for presentations and an interactive question and answer period.
On the main stage, you will hear from representatives from the Virginia congressional delegation about the application procedures for congressional nominations to the academies as well as speakers from the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board, the University of Virginia ROTC pro- grams, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, the Virginia Military Institute, and the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership at Mary Baldwin University. There will also be time to speak in more detail with many of these representatives at their virtual resource tables.
If interested in joining, please sign up click on the link:
Parade Schedule for Spring 2022
- Sunday, May 1 | Alumni Weekend Parade | 1:30 PM
- Prior to the parade there will be an Alumni Ceremony. Day students will need to arrive by 0900 in DCUs. Day students will need to bring their Class A uniforms with round hat for the parade in the afternoon.
- Friday, May 6 | Mother's Day Weekend Parade | 3:00 PM
- Friday, May 13 | Military Appreciation Parade | 3:00 PM
Sage Dining wants your feedback!
Our friends from Sage Dining Services, who provide our delicious dining hall food, want feedback on how satisfied our cadets, parents, staff, and faculty are with their services. If you are a parent of a cadet, a current cadet enrolled or staff and faculty, please fill out the survey below.
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. The available spaces at our upcoming admissions events have been filling up quickly with our Fairfax, VA admissions events.
Saturday, April 9 -- Admissions Fair in Fairfax, VA
- Meet with our admissions staff at an Admissions Fair on Saturday, February 19th, from 9 AM to 1 PM at the Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks.
Saturday, April 23 -- Admissions Event in Wayne, PA
- Join MAJ Gary Leydig on Saturday, April 23 from 10 AM to 12 PM at the Courtyard Philadelphia Valley Forge/King of Prussia Hotel in Wayne, PA to learn more about Fork Union Military Academy. Our host and 2003 alumnus Joe Davidson will also attend this event. Click here to register for this event.
Saturday, May 14 -- Admissions Fair in Fairfax, VA
- Meet with our admissions staff at an Admissions Fair on Saturday, February 19th, from 9 AM to 1 PM at the Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks.
This Week's Bravo Zulu Award Winners
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 this week:
Cadet Staff Sergeant Matthew Vinso is a junior and first-year cadet in Alpha Company. He is a Boarding student from Stafford, VA. In addition to his duties as Detail NCO for his company, Cadet Vinso helps run the snack bar in the Social Center. While working in the Social Center this past weekend, he volunteered to take an alumnus and his spouse on a campus tour. They were very appreciative of his time and professionalism. Bravo Zulu, Cadet Vinso!
Cadet Staff Sergeant Dominic Julius is a senior and third-year cadet in Bravo Company. He is a boarding student from Philadelphia, PA. Cadet Julius won the 400-meter event at our last track meet. He is ranked top within the state and will be attending Youngstown State University in the fall on a full scholarship. Bravo Zulu, Cadet Julius!
Cadet Sergeant Jimmy Sa Said is an eighth grader and first-year cadet in Charlie Company. He is a boarding student from Mexico City, MX. In preparing for parade season, he has led his squad to be the best in drill and ceremonies as well as manual of arms with the M1 grand rifle. Bravo Zulu, Cadet Sa Said!
Cadet Major Massimo Swail is a senior and fourth-year cadet in Headquarters and Service Company. He is a boarding student from Miami, FL. At the beginning of the year, Cadet Swail was promoted to the rank of captain. After months of hard work and dedication, he has been promoted to the rank of major for his outstanding performance. His dedication to excellence is an inspirational example to the other cadets. Cadet Swail will attend The Citadel in the fall. Bravo Zulu, Cadet Swail!
Bravo, gentlemen!
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.
Thank you!
Credits:
Photos by: Kristin Firewicz, Dan Thompson, Kate Goad, James Benson