“You will now begin the Cadet Fitness Assessment, starting with the shuttle run." And so, Cadet and senior Clara Breneman began.
The dealers — students in training at the U.S. Naval Academy who have their first year at the Academy — strictly observed her.
Living in Maryland at Bancroft Hall, where all midshipmen — students at the Academy— live, Breneman attended Summer Seminar — a highly selective week-long experience imitating life at the Naval Academy for incoming seniors in high school. The Academy is highly prestigious and the hardest military academy to get into in the U.S.
“After the seminar, I was completely committed to the idea of going to the academy for post-high school,” Breneman said.
The seminar was a final step in her Naval Academy recruitment journey. After completing the essays and rigorous multi-step interviews with senators and congressmen, Breneman was intent on securing her spot as a midshipman.
It’s required by the Academy to obtain a nomination by someone in the Senate or House of Representatives.
Breneman received three: a Principal Nomination — the highest recognition — from Representative Sharice Davids and two primary nominations from Senator Roger Marshall and Senator Jerry Moran.
Breneman has attended summer sessions in Maryland to prepare for the academy since the summer of 2023. After watching her cousin graduate from the Academy, she became obsessed with the prestige of school.
Breneman will attend Naval Academy Preparatory School in Rhode Island for one year; she has a secured spot at the Academy for the fall of 2027.
Everything she has done since the beginning of high school has been to perfect her application for the Academy Breneman says. Her daily training and constant editing of her application made it easy to see the work she put into it.
“She would always [wear] her Navy sweatshirt to school just to get excited about it,” senior Mary Green said.
Breneman knew there was a chance she wouldn't be accepted, so she applied to K-State for architecture to ensure she had a back - up option for next year. A few weeks after being admitted at K-State for architecture, she opened the portal to find her acceptance to the Academy for the class of 2031 — meaning she won’t go straight there instead, she will spend a year at NAPS. NAPS is a school to prepare midshipmen for success in the Academy, not her original plan.
“[The portal] said the application is fully accepted to Naval Academy Preparatory School, [I] was in tears and damn it but I'm still going to do it,” Breneman said. “[I’m] mad that I am not going straight there, [I] worked my ass off for years.”
Her drive for the Academy hasn’t faltered, even with the redirection of not going to the Academy straight away.
“[Clara’s] disappointed, but she's ready to go full force there,” Swim Coach Chris Copeland said. “[But] she knows where she's headed, and she's going to get there anyway she can.”
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