Page 8 - Flathead Beacon // 6.3.15

8 | JUNE 3, 2015 NEWS
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Capt. Mike Langohr presents Flathead High School’s Andrew Obst with an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy during a scholarship ceremony.
GREG LINDSTROM FLATHEAD BEACON
A Lifelong Dream Fulfilled
Just
Sayin’...
“People here in town think I’m making a huge mistake. Some of them, I think, secretly want there to be an attack on the United States, so they can blame it onme.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., quoted by The Hill, on his efforts to let the Patriot Act expire.
“We won’t be sitting in the committee meetings with pom-poms.”
Bigfork Sen. Bob Keenan, quoted by the Associated Press, who was an opponent of Medicaid expansion in Montana and was named as one of the members of the panel that oversees it.
“As if we don’t have enough problems with asbestos and no jobs, now we have leaders breaking the law.”
Libby resident Charles McFarland during a city council meeting following the Montana commissioner of political practices finding that Libby Mayor Doug Roll and other city officials violated election laws just days before the 2013 election.
Flathead graduate Andrew Obst appointed to United States Naval Academy
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
Every kid has a dream. Some want to be firefighters and others want to be astro- nauts. Andrew Obst wanted to be a fighter pilot.
Of course, most kids change their minds about their future aspirations by the time they graduate high school. But Obst isn’t like most kids. In sixth grade, he told one of his teachers that he wanted to attend the United States Naval Academy.
Now, after years of work, the 18-year- old is about to realize that dream. On May 27, Obst received his formal appointment to the Naval Academy during a ceremony at Flathead High School. But for Obst, or any other student accepted to the distin- guished officer’s academy in Annapolis, Maryland, getting into the institution is much more complex than just mailing an application. Obst had to go through a rig- orous interview process and gather sup-
port from at least one member of Con- gress.
Simply put, getting into the Naval Academy is an extraordinary process, but Obst isn’t a normal teenager.
Growing up in Libby, Obst was inter- ested in the military, and in sixth grade, on an assignment asking him what he wanted to do with his life, he wrote that he was going to be a fighter pilot.
“The paper was probably full of bad handwriting and misspellings,” Obst said. “But that assignment really got me think- ing about seriously going into the mili- tary.”
Later, his family moved to Kalispell and in high school he excelled at academ- ics and sports, partaking in football, wres- tling and track. He also stayed connected with his hometown by working with David Thompson Search and Rescue in Lincoln County, where he still works as a swift wa- ter rescue instructor.
In high school, he met with an advisor who told him to maintain his grades and partake in extra curricular activities so that he could apply to the Naval Academy. However, he also needed a nomination from a Congressman before he could ap- ply. He approached Sens. Jon Tester and
Steve Daines, former Sen. John Walsh, and Rep. Ryan Zinke and received nomi- nations from all of them. To receive those nominations he had to go through an in- tense interview process where Montan- ans who have attended various service academies pepper the candidate with questions. Obst apparently had the right stuff and was informed earlier this year that he had gotten into the academy, though it was not official until a retired naval officer presented him with the for- mal appointment last week.
“I’m so excited to watch his dreams come true,” Obst’s father Jon said just be- fore the ceremony.
Obst said he still hopes to be a pilot, but eventually wants to be in a leadership role. He said while the U.S. military is among the best in the world, he believes there are ways to improve it and he wants to help in- stitute that change. When he graduates in four years he will be a naval officer.
Although Obst said the next few years would be full of hard work, he is confident he will succeed.
“I know I’m going to do well because of all the great people who have helped me get here,” he said.
[email protected]
GATEWAY PRIDE PROJECT
MMU
IT
INTEREST FREE LOAN PROGRAM
406-892-1776
We want to be your bank!
CALL US OR VISIT TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION
www.freedombankmt.com
O
N
C
Y