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De Pere senior Hujet accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy

By Heather Graves
Editor


DE PERE – From an early age, De Pere High School senior Emma Hujet said she knew she wanted to be in some branch of the military.

“I had always had a little bit of an interest in the military, ever since I was little,” Hujet said. “When I was in elementary school, we used to take these sort of aptitude tests that would tell you top careers that would fit with your personality. And I remember in like third grade, I got a military officer, and my whole family laughed, because I thought it was such a joke, because I was one of the little kids that was always wearing pink sparkles every day. So nobody really took it very seriously. But I always kept this little seed in the back of my mind thinking that it was something I was interested in.”

However, she said it wasn’t until her sophomore year that the seed began growing, and pursuing a career in the military started to become more than just a thought.

“I started talking to my mom’s cousin, who actually graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA),” Hujet said. “I didn’t even know it was a thing. It started as a pretty nonchalant conversation of us talking about things that I thought about for my future, and he asked me if I would look into the academy. As soon as I started looking, I just had this feeling that it was the place for me.”

After making the decision that a career in the military would be the direction she would take after graduation, Hujet said it didn’t take long to decide the officer route through a military academy fit her path best.

“I’ve always had a little bit of higher expectations for myself,” she said. “So, I figured that the level of difficulty that was with going through an academy to become an officer was what appealed to me, as well as knowing that it was going to be a challenge, and I was up for it.”

The acceptance

With an acceptance rate of less than 9%, the USNA in Annapolis, Maryland, founded in 1845, is one of the most selective four-year colleges in the country, putting Hujet in a prestigious group.

Candidates must have a strong academic and physical fitness background, and be recommended by a member of Congress.

Hujet received her recommendation from Rep. Mike Gallagher, who also surprised her with the news of her acceptance during a Zoom call earlier this month.

“So I didn’t know,” she said. “I had a little bit of an idea when I walked into that room of what it was about, but that was all a surprise. It was Mike Gallagher that was on the computer. He was the congressman who nominated me, so he wanted to be the one to break the news to me.”

Hujet said she was, and still kind of is, in shock.

“I had been struggling the last few weeks, because I got medically disqualified by the Department of Defense, because back in 2018, I dislocated my shoulder, and they were worried that that was going to get in the way of the physical aspect of going to the academy,” she said. “So I was in the process of getting a medical waiver, and I hadn’t been told that it was approved yet, so I had no idea going in that I had already gotten a waiver approved for me.”

Hujet said she was asked why she didn’t cry when she found out.

“Honestly, because it hadn’t really processed with me,” she said. “And it honestly still hasn’t. I don’t think it really will until I start signing the paperwork and making it truly official. It was definitely a lot of initial shock. But, I feel such a sense of relief now to just know that it’s all done, and I’m set and I’m good.”

Outside reaction

Hujet said her family was definitely shocked with her decision to apply for and attend the USNA, but after a few years of “me continuing to say that this is what I wanted to do, they started to realize that it wasn’t just a phase, and it was actually a legit goal of mine.”

“My mom, of course, doesn’t want me going this far away from home,” she said. “She would love it if I would stay home, but they’re all so incredibly supportive of this for me. So, I know that whatever I had chosen in my life, that they would 100% support it.”

The first of her immediate family to pursue a career in the military, Hujet said she knows there might be a bit of a learning curve for her.

“I truly don’t know very much about the military,” she said. “But like I said, I’m kind of up for those challenges, and I think that I think it’ll go well.”

Hujet said her ability to pick up on things quickly will be an asset at the academy.

“I’m a pretty good learner,” she said. “I’ve also been a pretty good leader throughout my life, so I think that the leadership aspect of it will come pretty naturally to me. I truly don’t know very much about the military.”

Prepared to succeed

Hujet said the classes, activities and organizations she’s been involved in during her high school years prepared her for the next four years of academic, physical and professional military training.

“I’m super involved in my student government,” she said. “I’m class president and student council president, and both of those roles have put me in charge of delegating to other people and to keep myself organized, as well as being responsible for the organization of others and for the organization itself, which I think will definitely come in handy.”

As far as classes, Hujet said much of what she’s taken over the last four years has prepared her to overcome learning challenges.

“I’ve always challenged myself in my course load, which right now I’m kind of regretting,” she said, “but I think that it helps teach me the different tactics in overcoming those obstacles.”

Regarding physical preparedness, Hujet said she has played soccer her whole life, and she participates in the high school’s show choir, which requires a lot of stamina.

“I’ve just always been a very active person with those things,” she said. “I think that not only is the academy going to be a challenge physically, but definitely mentally, and I think that I’m a strong enough person that I’ve learned how to deal with challenges. So, I think that it’ll be difficult, but it’ll be fine.”

Oddly enough, Hujet said she anticipates the biggest challenge ahead of her is being surrounded by people who are all top of the class and who all excelled greatly in their courses and put so much hard work and dedication into their studies.

“As weird as this might sound, I’m no longer going to be like the best, because right now, while I’m not top of my class, I’m pretty well-known for being a hard worker and being the person that everybody always thinks of when they think of a dedicated student,” she said. “And now I’m going to be in a pool of people who are all like that. So, it’s going to be hard to stand out in that way. I think I might struggle adapting to that, but it just means that I have to work that much harder, because I’m surrounded by people who are going to push me to work harder.”

Hujet said she is excited for the opportunity the academy provides in meeting new people.

“I feel like the academy brings in so many people from so many different areas, and I’m excited to kind of expand my knowledge of people, because I’ve grown up and lived in De Pere my whole life, and I’ve only really known this small town,” she said. “So I’m excited to expand that. And I’m also excited to be surrounded by people that I know worked really hard to get there and are going to have the same level of dedication that I have.”

Area of focus

Like all incoming freshmen, or plebes as they’re referred to, Hujet will enter the USNA as a midshipman.

And like all midshipmen, her journey will begin with Plebe Summer, a seven-week physical and mental training regimen, with the goal, according to the academy, of turning civilians into midshipmen.

Where her journey goes from there, Hujet said she is keeping her options open.

“Because, I’m not entirely sure,” she said. “I’m not super familiar with the careers that are available to me, but I’ve always had a vision of going into the medical world. So, I’m hoping to do something with military medicine, if the opportunity presents itself to me.”

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