While most high school graduates will spend the summer relaxing, Bryan Kolano will be put through arduous activities.
That is because the Clarkston High School senior has recently accepted an appointment to the Military Academy at West Point. He will visit the academy on April 7-8 before officially starting on June 30.
“They have a reception day where everybody goes to the football stadium and they talk to the families. The parents get to say their last goodbyes and that is how we start,” Kolano said.
Getting accepted to West Point has been a goal for Kolano for several years. The lifelong Clarkston resident came across their website and also received some help from the CHS counseling department.
“I have wanted to be an army officer since ninth or tenth grade,” Kolano said. “I wanted to serve the country and I wanted to go in as an officer so this seemed like a good choice.”
Kolano brought an impressive list of accomplishments to the application process. The senior carries a 3.72 grade point average, runs track and has been in marching band for four years. He also has worked stage crew for school musicals, co-founded a military history club and currently serves as secretary for the National Honor Society.
Outside of school, Kolano is busy being active with the Oakland County Sheriff Explorer’s program, which is a training program for teens with an interest in law enforcement, in addition to serving as an usher at St. Daniel’s Catholic Church.
Despite the high grades and the multiple activities, getting into West Point was never a sure thing for Kolano. The military academy receives around 13,000 applications each year of which around 3,500 get nominated while just 1,200 are admitted.
Kolano received a nomination from Congressman Dale Kildee after going through an long process which included multiple interviews with various U.S. Congressman and Senators. Kolano also had to write more than 15 essays and go through a physical test.
“Congressman Kildee called me on my cell phone to congratulate me on my acceptance and I was pretty shocked. I must have said thank you about 300 times,” Kolano said. “I got the call during the school musical and I told my friend Ben Kosbab and he was as shocked about it as I was. I then called my parents and they were both real excited. My mom was thrilled to death and also scared to death. My dad is proud and telling everyone he knows.”
When Kolano started the process last year by e-mailing government officials, he made sure he had a back-up plan. He also made sure he had a back-up for his back-up a few times over. He applied and received acceptances to Purdue, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State while also receiving ROTC scholarship offers from both the Army and Navy.
“But my number one goal was to get into West Point. I also applied at the Naval Academy and the Air Force but I wanted the military academy,” Kolano said.
For someone who has not ever been away from Clarkston for a long period of time, there will be an adjustment.
“It will be hard,” Kolano said. “I am a little nervous about cadet basic training. It will be stressful.”
Kolano will leave behind some proud parents.
“I am tremendously proud of him,” father Rick Kolano said. “It was an extremely arduous process and Bryan really rose to the occasion. It demonstrated his ability to identify a goal and go after it.”
Kolano is preparing himself for the academy by working out everyday. He is planning on stepping his training up a notch after graduation and running nine or ten miles a day. The military academy has given him some basic instructions on preparing for the training.
After the six year program, Kolano is thinking about working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He said the current war in Iraq doesn’t make him any more excited about starting at West Point, nor does it make him any less excited.