Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Voigt, Backaus
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 7/06/2022
Voigt Participates in Naval Academy Summer Seminar
Dylan Voigt (2nd from r) of rural Neillsville recently participated in the U.S. Naval Academy Summer Seminar, a six-day program of physical training, high-level academic classes and learning about being in the Navy.
By Victoria Brecht
One Neillsville-area lad recently was chosen for a hands-on experience at one of the country’s foremost military academies.
Dylan Voigt is the son of Dave and Jeanine Voigt and will be a high school senior in the fall. He attended the United States Naval Academy Summer Seminar June 18-23 in Annapolis, MD and got a taste of the physical and intellectual rigor expected of those enrolled there.
For a long time, Voigt has had the desire to join the military.
“It’s pretty much been my plan all along. My dad was in the Navy, so it’s almost a tradition. I also feel it’s my responsibility as a citizen to serve in some way and this seemed like the best way to go about it,” Voigt said.
Voigt also has long held the desire to complete his college education at the U.S. Naval Academy, which only admits about 1,000 students per year with an 8% acceptance rate. Students earn a four-year degree but also receive military training and can enter the military as a ranking officer upon graduation. After graduating, students must serve an eight-year military commission.
In order to apply to the academy, a student must have a recommendation from a U.S. senator or representative, or the U.S. president or vice president. Voigt decided to attend an “academy service day” Sept. 25 in Superior, in which potential academy students get a chance to meet with members of Congress. While there, Voigt learned more about the U.S. Naval Academy and was told that attending the summer seminar gives a person a better chance of being accepted to the academy.
Voigt completed an application for the summer seminar highlighting his academic performance, awards received and extracurricular involvement. In April, he found out he was selected.
“This is a very prestigious honor,” said Neillsville High School guidance counselor Julia Backaus. “Dylan is very smart, very intelligent, humble and thoughtful. I’m not surprised he was accepted.”
Voigt was the first student from Neillsville to attend the summer seminar in at least the last 10 years.
Voigt and his fellow candidates were kept busy throughout the week with a full schedule of activities. On the Sunday, there were religious services. Voigt also completed a candidate fitness assessment that day, which include a kneeling basketball throw, pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups and a shuttle run. That will be part of his application when he applies to the academy.
Voigt would wake up around 5:15 or 5:30 a.m. each day and join the entire group in a 45-minute workout. After working out, the candidates had breakfast and then went to two morning academic workshops, including introduction to literature, physics, seamanship and navigation, history, martial arts and a character development seminar.
“I liked the seamanship and navigation class a lot because we went on a patrol boat and took a tour of it. We drove around the bay,” said Voigt.
He also enjoyed history and physics because those are his two favorite academic subjects.
After lunch, Voigt had one more class before intramural sports like volleyball and dodgeball, followed by supper. In the evening, everyone came together for “forming up,” meaning standing together in ranks and performing maneuvers. Voigt and five other candidates were part of a squad, led by a “midshipman” (someone attending the academy currently). Six squads made up a platoon. Six platoons made up a company and there were five companies in all.
“We would do some sort of team building or leadership activity with our squad,” said Voigt.
On Wednesday, the companies competed against each other in a drill competition and Voigt’s company won.
At night, a retired military member would speak on a topic such as leadership or admissions details for the academy.
One of the days was spent in a grueling seven-hour process known as “sea trials.”
“We had to swim on our back holding a fake rifle and cross the pool twice,” said Voigt. “We also had tread water for a certain length of time. Then we did an endurance course that went one-and-a-half miles through the woods, and we had to go over a bunch of obstacles.”
After that, the group did log physical training, where each squad had to work together to do various exercises like squats while carrying a log together. Next, the group went down to the beach and did exercises like push-ups and sit-ups, having to put their face in the water each repetition. Then all of the members of the company had to hold themselves in plank position while one member of the company army-crawled underneath them. After that, the squads raced rowboats. The candidates also had the option of another round of training, so to speak, which most opted in for, in which they had to stand at attention against a wall for 30 minutes while getting yelled at and having to answer questions. If they broke their stance or answered questions wrong, they had to do push-ups.
“It lets you see what it’s going to be like and helps you decide if you actually want to deal with it or not,” said Voigt. “It was definitely a learning experience, like a preparation for what you’re going into and a checkpoint to see if you’re ready or not.”
Voigt also got to see what classes would be like at the academy. The biggest class size is 25-30 people, so there is more individualized attention than a typical college setting.
Voigt learned some intangible lessons as well.
“I don’t want to say we’re all like brothers, because that sounds cliché, but it’s like a team. You’re not there for yourself; you’re there to help everyone else… It gave me a sneak peek on how important leadership and teamwork is to them,” he said.
For Voigt, the entire experience solidified his goal of attending the naval academy after high school. He wants to major in physics and go into aviation. If not accepted into the naval academy, his second choice would be attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida to study aeronautics.
Backaus expressed confidence that Voigt would do well in his future endeavors, whatever they may be.
“Dylan is a very polite and considerate young man. He is well-cut out for his future aspirations with the military,” she said. “He achieves at the top notch academically and has taken several college classes, but also has been out in the shop honing his mechanical skills. I think both will serve him very well in his future.”
Dylan Voigt works through an obstacle during the “sea trials” portion of the U.S. Naval Academy Summer Seminar that included a variety of physical challenges. Submitted photos.
