Congratulations to Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the 2021 recipient of the prestigious Thayer Award. Dr. Jemison served six years as a NASA astronaut and is trained as an engineer, doctor, social scientist, dancer and professor. Jemison currently teaches at Dartmouth College, where she focuses on technology design for sustainability for both industrialized and developing nations. While visiting West Point, Jemison met with the Academy’s leadership team and spoke with cadets from the Black and Gold Leadership Forum and Department of Social Sciences in a Q&A session before heading out to the plain for the annual Thayer Parade Review with the Corps of Cadets and LTG Darryl A. Williams ’83. Photos.

On October 21, Lieutenant Colonel James R. Enos '00 received the 2021 Alexander R. Nininger Award from WPAOG. Enos is currently a professor at USMA and teaches classes in Systems Dynamics and Lean Six Sigma. Enos is also the Director of the Operations Research Center. In 2006, Enos saved the lives of his company and defeated an enemy stronghold while serving in Iraq. His leadership under fire as the Company Commander for Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, earned him the Silver Star for his actions on December 4, 2006. WPAOG presented the Nininger Award to Enos during a dinner with the Corps of Cadets. Full story.

WPAOG was honored to host members of the Superintendent’s Circle on September 24 and 25 at the annual Superintendent’s Circle Weekend. The weekend included a Friday evening Luau at Herbert Hall with members of the USMA and WPAOG Leader Teams and the Army-Miami OH football game on Saturday. Superintendent’s Circle Weekend recognized all donors who made gifts of $2,500 or more to the Superintendent’s Annual Fund or the West Point Parents Fund in 2020. Photos.

The Margaret Corbin Women’s Leadership Forum hosted an event on September 20 at the Regimental Room inside the Cadet Mess Hall during Women in Leadership Day. The event centered its message on “Leveling Up Your Leadership.” Filled with prestigious guest speakers and current members of cadet leadership, the focus of the morning panel discussion was about women accepting increasing levels of responsibility. The Corbin Women’s Leadership Forum’s mission is to educate, empower and inspire the Corps of Cadets to serve as commissioned leaders of character by facilitating discussion of gender diversity and inclusion within the Corps, the Army and society, and by providing education opportunities, mentoring, and networking in support of cadets, staff, and faculty. Full story.

On September 25, the Texas Tamale Tailgate (T3) returned to the ‘49er Lodge on post. The event, which is hosted by the WPPC of Greater Houston, with support from the WPPC of South Texas and the WPPC of North Texas, provided a Texas feast to 400 cadets and guests. The meal included 128 dozen tamales shipped from Houston, brisket, ribs, sausage, sides, and a huge selection of both donated and homemade desserts. In support of the West Point Parents Fund, WPPC of Greater Houston presented a check for $2,000 to WPAOG President and CEO Todd Browne ’85 and Development Officer Shelisa Baskerville. Learn More

The West Point Association of Graduates held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 1 to officially open the new Equestrian Center for the United States Military Academy. This equestrian center will host traditional training for both novice and experienced riders. It will also ensure consistent year-round training for the West Point Equestrian Team and will host Equestrian events. During the ribbon-cutting, WPAOG's Kristin Sorenson, VP of Development, thanked all the donors who made the new facility possible because of their tremendous support. The new facility is called the General Crosbie E. Saint Equestrian Center and is located at Morgan Farms in Highland Falls. The center is named after GEN (R) Crosbie Edgerton Saint '58 who served as Commander, United States Army Europe from 1988 to 1992. Photos.

In the final competition of its Fall season, Army West Point women's tennis turned in a strong performance at the West Point Invite over the October 15-17 weekend. The Black Knights won 30 of a possible 34 matches on the weekend against opponents from Fairfield, Marist, Lehigh, St. Bonaventure, and Sacred Heart. Army started the weekend posting a perfect record in singles play with seven victories over Marist. Army earned seven of nine singles victories on the second day over Sacred Heart. On the final day of action, Army won all five of its singles contests and matched that performance on the doubles courts with another five victories to bring the weekend total to 30. Full story.

It is said that for Cadets at West Point, competing on the fields of friendly strife provides first-hand experience at preparing to win on the battlefield. Through athletics, Cadets are given a chance to learn about tenacity, resilience, discipline, mental and physical toughness, and the desire to excel. When the ’field’ is a 28-mile swim around the island of Manhattan and the ‘competition’ pits yourself against the ever-changing currents and conditions of open water for over an eight-hour span, those attributes and ideas are put to the test. For Erica Esterly '24, a yearling on the Army West Point Swimming and Diving Team, the character traits that have been instilled in her through her time at the Academy helped her win on the battlefield that was the 20 Bridges Swim, which she completed in September. Full story.

We know parents are counting down to winter break as much as the Cadets are! Our countdown calendar is a great way to mark off the days until the holidays and learn a little about West Point at the same time. Each window reveals a West Point scene or event which occurs in December each year. Add this whimsical calendar to your holiday traditions. Available to ship immediately for a December 1 start. Shop online at WPAOGGiftShop.com or give us a call at 800.426.4725 (M-F/10am-5pm). We are also open on home football Saturdays.

Fresh off a bye week, the Army West Point sprint football team stood tall in it's CSFL battle against Mansfield on October 16, defeating the Mountaineers, 19-11. JC Watson threw for 168 yards and Jeremiah Garrett rushed for 85 yards as the Black Knights outgained the Mountaineers by over 130 yards, 333-198. Touchdowns from Donovan Mannion, Ryan Connors and Landry Songer were enough to propel the Black Knights to the win. Full story.

The Army West Point men's rugby team bounced back in a big way on October 16 with a 43-8 win over its Rugby East foe, Kutztown. The Black Knights ran away with the victory after scoring 38 straight points and holding Kutztown scoreless for 46 minutes of game action. Koikoi Nelligan picked up where he left off against Penn State, leading the Cadets with a pair of try scores in the contest. Steven Rohde, Lucas Pattinson, Michael Amberg, Dom Tianga, and Sean McNulty all also punched home try scores to propel the Brothers to a key Rugby East win. Full story.

Cadets Jordan Soper-Johnson, Yejin Bae, and Sheyla Street along with CPT Jeremy Reynolds and Dr Margaret Grogan from the Department of Mathematical Sciences engaged with local 7th graders in Indianapolis, IN, to inspire future careers in STEM fields. The students conducted hands-on training with Sphero robots, and they were introduced to computer programming in a series of friendly, competitive exercises. The STEM event coincided with a Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity in STEM (LEADS) workshop that brought together cadets, high school students, and retirees to discuss the issues of honor and integrity in the modern world.