TUSTIN : Tustin High to Send 3 More to WestPoint

Since their freshman year, Erin Cunningham, Jennifer MacLean and Dan Taylor have shared most of the same honors classes at Tustin High School. In July, they will share the same classes once again--but this time at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The three, chosen this year to attend the prestigious academy in New York, bring to nine the number of students from Tustin High appointed to West Point since 1983--more than any other high school in the country, according to Tustin school officials.

“We really feel it’s because of the strong background we give the kids in academics the moment they walk through the door,” said Brad Lantz, assistant vice principal. “We have a great counseling service that works directly with college-bound students.”

For Cunningham, MacLean and Taylor, having older friends at West Point is comforting.

“It’s a good thing,” said Taylor, a 17-year-old varsity basketball player. “We know some of the people from Tustin that are there now, and they’ve given us a lot of information about what the school is like.”

To get appointments to the academy, the students had to ask their local congressman, Rep. C. Christopher Cox, R-Newport Beach, for a nomination. All applicants must have the recommendation of a federal or state legislator.

Applicants must also meet the grade and test requirements and must be athletically oriented.

“You have to participate in some sort of sport,” said Cunningham, 17, a member of the cross-country and track team. “Since it is required that you participate in a sport at the academy, it makes sense.”

Students also participate in a six-week boot camp before classes begin.

The students all said that after they applied, they had considerable doubts about faring well enough to be accepted by the academy.

“When I found out I got in, I was at my after-school job at a florist,” said MacLean, 17, who wants to study medicine. “I was so excited. . . . Everyone gathered around because they knew how much anticipation I’d had over it.”

As West Point cadets, each will receive about $500 a month, but most of that income will be spent on uniforms, computers and books. After graduation, five years of service must be completed in the U.S. Army.

“They say life as a ‘plebe’ (freshman) is really something else,” said Cunningham, who plans to fly helicopters after graduation. “You have no respect and get to deliver everyone else’s mail.”

“The officials have been pretty straight with us about what to expect and how things are,” Taylor said. “They say to be mentally prepared. For me, mental preparation just involves expecting the worst.”