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Dear Fellow Vermonter,
Each year, the Vermont Congressional Delegation comes together at the end of December to nominate outstanding young Vermonters to be members of the United States Service Academies. We hold this annual reception at the Vermont State House and invite families and current students of the academies to join us.
As part of this annual event, we hold a roundtable discussion so that the students can get to know one another and share why each of them has chosen to serve their country. And let me tell you, after hearing what these young Vermonters have to say it would be hard not to conclude that they are a very special group of youngsters. As Vermonters, we should be very proud of all of them.
At just 17 or 18 years old, they have made a decision to serve our country. They have chosen service to community, above self. These young people may go on to have 20-year careers in the military. They may also receive important education and training through the academies and military service that will lead them to become the doctors, nurses, engineers, pilots, teachers, and first responders who live and work every day in our communities.
Here are some photos from the event that Senator Welch, Congresswoman Balint, and I hosted, and some of what these young Vermonters had to say.
Penelope Scott from Killington shared, “I’ve dedicated a lot of my high school years to community service and I think that it’s really important and it’s very healing to help other people and that was the main reason I wanted to go to the Naval Academy. I wanted to be a part of something that was bigger than myself.”
Henry Bushey of Charlotte said, “The thing that drew me to the academy is doing the hard thing – to be part of something bigger than myself but also pushing myself to do something challenging.”
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The names of this year’s nominees are:
Emma Airoldi of Essex Junction, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Noah Bruttomesso of Middletown Springs, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Henry Bushey of Charlotte, Vermont (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Schuyler Clapp of Norwich, Vermont (U.S. Airforce Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Nathanael Conyers of Waterbury, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
John Hudson Deck of Manchester, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Welch
Gabriel Gardner of Barton, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Nikolas Graupe of Stowe, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Levi Halley of Woodstock, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Aidan Keough-Vella of Bridgewater Corners, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Jonathan McNamara of Essex, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Aidan Militello of Shelburne, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders
Luke Miller of Strafford, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Iola Parry of Lincoln, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Cannon Parsons of Waterbury Center, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders
Derek Renaud of East Hardwick, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Devin Schlegel-Barber of Milton, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Penelope “Pippa” Scott of Mendon, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Representative Balint
Jacob Shevchik of Essex Junction, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Stefan Tallini of West Dover, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)
Nominated by: Senator Sanders, Senator Welch, Representative Balint
Sincerely,
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