Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School celebrated one of its own Monday when senior Praise Yawe received her formal commissioning to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Retired Army Lt. Col. David Kramer officially presented Yawe with commission to the prestigious university.
Her high academic standing and her leadership as captain of the cross-country team are part of what made her stand out in the 24th Congressional District, which spans parts of San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties and all of Santa Barbara County.
"... Diverse background of leadership, in addition to her incredible academic accomplishments, that combined also with her physical prowess, captain of the cross-country team," Lt. Col. Kramer said of Yawe's acceptance. "To me, it's a slam dunk — just looking at her file,"
That, paired with her impressive extracurricular resume — which included being the commander of her civil air patrol squadron and being a student pilot — set her apart.
"Emotions were so high I had to reload the page to make sure I wasn't hallucinating or seeing something of a mistake," Praise Yawe said. "But I remember just running down the stairs to my parents and showing them, 'Mom, dad, look at this.' And we double-checked and it was real. So that's also another moment that I'll never forget."
West Point has a 12% acceptance rate nationally, according to US News & World Report.
Lt. Col. Kramer said that West Point typically only accepts one or two people from each congressional district per year.
Yawe plans to explore the aviation route within the Army initially.
