Deeya Sharma, 12

“Soccer is definitely a constant, something I can hold onto because it never really changes. [Over the summer I] spent a lot of time recovering from [ACL surgery following my soccer injury], and I started working on shortening my college list, so I kinda knew where I wanted to apply once senior year started. [The United States Naval Academy] is my dream school. I do plan on applying next year. I’ve been there for candidate visits weekend. You get to see what a day in the life is like, and that gives you a good sense of whether or not the Naval Academy life will be for you. It offers a variety of the majors that I want most. I am really interested in the ocean and ships. And you won’t find a lot of nautical architecture and ocean engineering majors across the country. I am not eligible to apply to the Naval Academy this year, because of my ACL. I think it was hard to kind of cope with that at first. It impacted a life long dream that I had. If I were to get into the Naval Academy I would serve as long as I can. If that is where I am meant to end up, then plus or minus a year wouldn’t be the end of the world. And one of the things that I like best about the Naval Academy is that your environment is constantly changing, but the people around you are the same. You never know what the next day is going to bring, that is always different, so I like the option to have something to lean back on.”