When I first toured the Naval Academy during my sophomore year of high school, I roamed the campus trying to figure out what intrigued me so much. Eighteen months later, I attended Summer Seminar, and I got a little closer to figuring it out. Now it’s been three years, I’m halfway through my plebe year, and I think I know what it was that I tried so hard to explain to the family and friends who asked why I wanted to go to the Naval Academy.

Delta Company Squad 1-3 at Summer Seminar 2015

At Summer Seminar I made a lot of memories, but the one that stands out most wasn’t running the E-Course or eating pizza in the tunnels at 2 in the morning with my squad; what I remember most was being in front-leaning rest with my squad, trying to remember the next line of Blue and Gold. An upperclassman who was down with us said, “My mom went here, she graduated 25 years ago and she still tears up when she hears that song, don’t YOU want that?” Hearing this story brought me closer to figuring out what’s so unique about this place. That feeling I get when we sing Blue and Gold, that’s why I’m here.

Delta Company at Summer Seminar 2015

Standing on a bulkhead every Sunday night with my classmates, it never changes. It’s an unparalleled feeling when forty plebes and our upperclassmen stand at attention, inhale at the same time, and sing the alma mater that means so much to us. That song — and the people standing next to me singing it — mean everything. Those few moments when we’re all singing Blue and Gold together — that’s what this place is about.

4th Company Plebes at the Nationals game in Fall 2016

The views expressed, [in this article] reflect personal opinions of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Naval Academy, the United States navy, any federal agency, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.