As the nation celebrated its 238th birthday, the U.S. Naval Academy’s Class of 2018 began Plebe Summer, a grueling seven weeks of training for roughly 1,200 incoming freshmen preparing to serve their country. Among them was Austin Davis of Mobile, salutatorian of the Class of 2014 at St. Luke’s Episcopal School.
More than 18,000 students had applied to the academy that year, an acceptance rate of less than 7 percent. Davis was one of the few who made it. He said he believed it was his duty as a citizen to defend the rights he had been given.
A resume built on leadership
Davis had set his sights on a military career early and assembled an impressive record at St. Luke’s. He graduated with a 4.38 grade point average, served as president of the senior class, earned a long list of honors and awards, played on the Wildcats’ state-champion baseball teams and its football team, and logged nearly 200 hours of community service.
His applications yielded a striking set of offers. In addition to his appointment to the Naval Academy, Davis received appointments to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and to West Point, the U.S. Military Academy, along with a full, four-year NROTC scholarship to The Citadel. When applying to a service academy, he said, an applicant takes every opportunity available, and he did not think his multiple appointments were especially unusual.
Others disagreed. Cmdr. Brian Campbell, the Naval Academy’s Blue and Gold officer and admissions liaison for the region, called Davis’s appointments exceptional because most applicants do not pursue admission to each academy.
A natural leader
Campbell described Davis as a natural leader with great academics and athletics, the sort of trifecta the academy sought in candidates who were leaders in their communities and schools and who wished to serve their country. It was rare, Campbell added, to find a top scholar who also possessed such leadership potential, and he said the faculty at St. Luke’s raved about him.
Davis credited teachers and coaches at St. Luke’s for helping him get there, naming English teacher Chris Keary-Taylor, dean of academics Suzy Banks, college counselor Ellen Blackwell and director of the middle and upper schools Patsy Horn. He also cited coaches including football coach Eddie Guth, who had moved on to another school but still called every Saturday morning to check in, and baseball coaches Tim Becker, Tyler Minto and Josh Eddington. Davis played cornerback and defensive back in football and was the catcher on a baseball team that won back-to-back state championships in 2013 and 2014.
Seven demanding weeks ahead
His athletic conditioning promised to serve him well during Plebe Summer. Over the seven weeks, recruits would run more than 100 miles, complete more than 3,000 push-ups and sit-ups, and consume more than 4,000 calories a day, according to one published account. The regimen also included swimming, martial arts, rock climbing and obstacle courses, along with coursework in seamanship, navigation and sailing.
Davis had a preview of the demands after attending the academy’s five-day summer program the previous year and a Candidate Visit Weekend in January. Plebe Summer, he knew, would be a no-internet, no-television experience, with recruits allowed only a handful of phone calls.
His parents, Scott and Melinda Davis, admitted to some worry about their only child’s chosen path, but said they were extremely proud of him. His mother said she felt good about the decision because she knew it was what he wanted, and that there was no part of him that did not understand what he was getting into. Austin, she said, had been grown up for a very long time.