‘A Great Opportunity’: Pleasantville Grad Heads to Coast Guard Academy
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Most new high school graduates have a little bit of a breather between the day of their school’s commencement ceremonies and when they head off to college to start the next chapter in their life. Pleasantville High School graduate Abby McAllister had roughly 60 hours.
On Monday morning, McAllister, who graduated with the rest of her Pleasantville Class of 2022 last Friday, reported to the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. as part of an incoming class of 303 students. For the next seven weeks, McAllister will be occupied with a boot camp-style training regimen that is called “swab summer.”
Not that she was complaining about the quick turnaround.
“I’m just looking at this as a great opportunity that not many people get to do every year,” McAllister said the week before graduation. “So it’s really an honor to be able to do that. I just keep reminding myself how much of an opportunity it is for myself. I know that it’s not ideal to have only two days, but being that I’m going to be bettering myself makes it all worth it.”
McAllister, the youngest of four children in her family, was already familiar with the Coast Guard. One of her brothers also went to the academy. She actually started considering it as an option during ninth and 10th grade, and then before the end of her junior year, she decided to pursue with the application process.
But it was the opportunity to continue to play lacrosse – she was on the varsity team at Pleasantville and served as a senior captain this past year – as well as having a strong sense of direction that appealed to McAllister.
Playing sports has also helped McAllister with leadership qualities, she said, something that she believes will be valuable at the academy.
“We were a team on my lacrosse team and my whole class is going to be a team at the Coast Guard. It’s just a bigger one, a lot more teammates,” McAllister said.
Her father Brad said since she was young, Abby has demonstrated the quality of wanting to help others and having a sense of service. As a parent, he is also looking at the practical side of things.
“It does take a special kid because it takes somebody that wants to be part of something bigger than just themselves,” Brad McAllister said. “It didn’t go past Abby. I don’t want to say it’s fine because you make a lot of sacrifices, but they pay the tuition, and also the fact that you have a job when you come out is something.”
Like the other service academies, after her four years at college she is obligated to five years of service.
What was also valuable for McAllister was participating last summer in the one-week introductory experience, the Academy Introduction Mission, that provides an incoming high school senior the chance to see if the academy would be for them. The program was a good simulation of what life is like at the academy, so McAllister had a good idea what she was getting herself into.
She started the application process last summer and learned by the end of last year of her acceptance.
McAllister said her friends were a little surprised but were quickly supportive of her decision.
“My friends at first really didn’t understand it,” McAllister said. “They were like, ‘Wait, you’re not going to be here this summer?’ No, I’m actually going to be at boot camp. They were like, ‘What? What do you mean?’ They were really excited for me and they were proud of me.”
McAllister realizes that she won’t be going to parties or hanging out, and that much of her life for the foreseeable future will be regimented.
Brad McAllister said he hopes that Abby’s decision to go to the Coast Guard Academy will perhaps open up the eyes of a few other high school students in the community, letting them be aware of other options besides going to a traditional four-year school
“It’s not for everybody, but I’m sure there are other kids that it’s perfect for,” he said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
