August 2006 Blue & Gold Officer's Notes

Cindy Miller '90, Area B&G Coordinator

We had an awesome year with the class of 2010. Forty-one students being given offers to USNA from Georgia and 32 accepted. We also had 11 go to NAPS and two received Foundation Scholarships. Both the NAPS and Foundation students will be accepted by USNA next year as long as they meet the grade and conduct requirements.

With the class of 2010 in the depths of their plebe summer, we are well into the admissions cycle for the class of 2011. In Atlanta alone, we currently have over 200 that have requested applications and of those 150 have met the requirements to receive an application. This is the second year that the applications are all online. If you know of a student who is applying, please make sure they know that the application is online and they just received a 2 page letter telling them how to apply instead of the 1 ½ pound application that most of us received in the mail. Their BGO’s name, phone number, and e-mail are all available for them on their online application.

One of the most frustrating things that we encounter as BGOs is Juniors that haven’t taken their PSAT/SAT or ACT tests so they are not competitive for our summer program at USNA (called Naval Academy Summer Seminar). No test scores can also hinder Seniors from getting an application. If you know of an interested student, please tell them to take the PSAT/SAT or ACT the first semester of the Junior year so that they will be able to provide the score in February when the application for the Summer Seminar becomes available. Although students can take the tests through January of their Senior year, our state senators and most congressmen have their nomination interviews in Oct/Nov and those are the scores that they use to determine which applicants they nominate.

If you have been thinking of becoming a Blue & Gold Officer, now is a great time. One of my favorite quotes came from our BGO training last summer. “It is now our time to serve, to pay back USNA for everything that it has given us and to pass on to the next generation all the history, honor, and leadership that the Academy has to offer.” Volunteering as a Blue and Gold officer is what he was referring to.

I get asked a lot about the Blue and Gold program and who can participate. A BGO is a USNA Blue and Gold Officer. BGOs perform counseling and interview students that are applying to USNA. A BGO performs a very important and needed service to the Academy Admissions office by providing a face-to-face interview with the candidate and evaluating the student for their true desire to attend USNA and serve in the Naval service.

Who can be a BGO? A BGO can be an active duty or reserve officer, retired military, a civilian who was an Academy graduate, or civilians who are parents of midshipmen or graduates. We are always looking to add BGOs to our great team here in Georgia; we currently have about 80 BGOs in the state. We can use BGOs no matter where you live in Georgia.

How much time is involved? Within the first two years of being involved in the program, BGOs are required once to attend a one-week training course in Annapolis during the summer. USNA pays for your transportation, lodging at Bancroft Hall, and food at King Hall. BGO work can accommodate almost anyone’s schedule. We have airline pilots, drilling reservists, active duty, retirees and those that work “normal” jobs in a lot of different job fields the program. As a BGO, you can determine how many schools and students you want under your area of responsibility. Since it is all on the computer system now, it is requested that all BGOs have a computer with access to the web.

If you are interested in being a BGO and helping USNA get the most qualified and motivated students, please contact Cindy Miller at (770) 650-8921 or cindymiller@1990.USNA.com.

Cindy Miller ’90
Georgia Blue & Gold Coordinator
cindymiller@1990.usna.com