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              Foreign Students Adapt to Rigors of US Naval Academy

   by Ramon Taylor

   Throughout its long history, the U.S. Naval Academy has produced
   prominent leaders, like former President Jimmy Carter and Senator John
   McCain.  The academy prepares young men and women to become officers in
   the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps. But not all of its undergraduate
   students - known as midshipmen - are American. Dozens are foreign
   exchange students who return home to serve their countries after
   graduating.

   David Ochy of Panama is one of about 60 foreign exchange students
   currently studying at the U.S. Naval Academy in historic Annapolis,
   Maryland.

   "Leaving the comfort zone of your country, to come here to a culture
   and language completely different from your own and adapt, has been a
   challenge," said Ochy.

   "It opens a cultural horizon so that one understands American culture
   better, and is more involved in the culture," said Santiago
   Gonzalez-Ayer, an exchange student from Spain.

   The Naval Academy was founded in 1845 on the grounds of an old fort.

   The academy says its mission is to prepare students to serve as
   officers in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps. It strives to develop
   competence, character and compassion in its midshipmen.

   International program director Tim Bisher said the U.S. Navy also
   benefits by opening up the program to foreign students, especially in a
   world increasingly connected through technology and social media.

   "It used to be, when I graduated in 1981 from the Naval Academy, only
   the senior officers were the ones that had relationships with their
   foreign navies or our counterparts," said Bisher. "That's not the case
   anymore. We're a smaller navy and our students, even as midshipmen,
   have the ability to make an impact with our foreign partners. We are
   creating young ambassadors ...right off the bat, right after they get
   commissioned."

   He said the exchange also strengthens the education of U.S. midshipmen,
   by enhancing their international exposure and understanding.

   "The world is becoming smaller and smaller. One day our students will
   be operating in the theaters or environments that they've explored in
   the context of their interpersonal relationships here at the Naval
   Academy with the foreign cadets, and vice versa. It's important that
   our allies know exactly how we function or operate as a military," said
   Navy Lieutenant Paul Angelo, who graduated from the academy in 2006.

   After finishing the exchange program, Gonzalez Ayer plans to return to
   Spain and become a naval officer.

   David Ochi wants to work as an ocean engineer back home.

   "I see my future in Panama," he said.

   The hope is they return home richer for the cultural experience they
   lived and shared with their fellow midshipmen at the academy.
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   s-naval-academy/1891078.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/foreign-students-adapt-to-rigors-of-us-naval-academy/1891078.html