| Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that he has
been informed that the United States Military Academy at West Point, New
York, has offered Mr. Birdsall Vo’a Ala’ilima an appointment to West Point
for the class that will be entering this summer. Vo’a, as he is fondly
referred to, is currently attending the New Mexico Military Institute,
in New Mexico.
Faleomavaega said, “I am always happy to learn when one of our Samoan
youths, such as Vo’a, who through hard work and perseverance, are successful
in achieving those goals they set for themselves. Meeting the academic
and physical standards set by the academies is not an easy task and I give
a lot of credit to Vo’a and especially to his parents.”
Vo’a, a 1999 graduate of Marist High School, is the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Leiataua Birdsall and Marlene Jahnke Ala’ilima of Tafuna. Should
he accept the appointment, he will join his brother, Mr. Conan Ala’ilima,
who is currently completing his second year at West Point. Conan,
also a graduate of Marist High School, was nominated by Faleomavaega in
1998.
Faleomavaega went on to say, “To my knowledge, this is the first
time that I am aware of that two brothers of Samoan ancestry have ever
attended one of the service academies at the same time. This is truly historic
and certainly something that I know all Samoans can be proud of.”
Faleomavaega added, “Unfortunately, due to a current law that prohibits
the delegate for American Samoa from having more than one cadet or midshipman
at any one-service academy at any given time, I could not nominate Vo’a
because of my nomination of his brother in 1998. For this reason, I was
very happy to learn that Vo’a was successful in earning a nomination through
the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at the New Mexico Military Institute,
because he excelled academically in the West Point Civil Preparatory Scholarship
Program,
Faleomavaega concluded by saying, “I would like to congratulate
Vo’a for the hard work ethic he possesses which in turn has led to his
being offered this most prestigious and much sought-after appointment.
I have no doubt that he possesses the necessary qualities to succeed at
the Academy, and should he accept his appointment, I wish him the very
best of luck at West Point.”
Candidates who receive appointments are guaranteed a four-year education
that is estimated to be valued at $220,000. Upon graduation, cadets
receive a Bachelor’s degree and are commissioned into the regular U.S.
Army as officers and are given the rank of second lieutenant. |
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