Jun. 4—Henry Vonderheide has always wanted to be a military officer. So when it came time to apply for college, only one place seemed a natural choice — the United States Military Academy at West Point.

“When I was a little kid, I was always outside playing Army or playing with the little green Army men. Guess I kind of never outgrew that,” he said.

Vonderheide also attributes his desire to be a military officer to his love of history and learning about the great men and women who have served.

“I think it’s a great institution. There’s so many great leaders that have come from it and it’s got just a really great history,” he said.

Vonderheide, the son of Gina and Travis Vonderheide, is the first Stewardson-Strasburg High School graduate to be accepted into West Point. However, others have been accepted into the Air Force and Naval academies, according to Vonderheide.

Vonderheide has known he wanted to apply to West Point since he first learned about it.

“I don’t even remember when that was,” he said.

But he didn’t start prioritizing what he needed to do to apply until it came time to consider where he would go to college. With a 10-15% acceptance rate, that meant taking extra classes to meet science and math requirements and joining the high school track team to improve his running to meet the fitness requirements.

The yearlong process was “pretty extensive,” according to Vonderheide, who also needed four letters of recommendation from certain subjects — English, Math, Science and PE. He also had to submit transcripts and SAT scores and pass a physical test and medical exam.

Besides stellar academics and fitness, he needed to be nominated by a member of Congress. Vonderheide wasn’t as worried about his academics — he ended high school with a 4.0 GPA — as he was getting the nomination.

“That’s the make or break thing,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Mary Miller nominated him.

He also had to go through an interview with an officer, which he admits was a little stressful at first.

“Just because I’m not a very social person,” he said.

Vonderheide got some guidance from people who attended West Point, whom his family found through friends of friends. He also got to talk to current cadets when he spent a week last summer on campus after being accepted to a summer camp for interested candidates.

One of his favorite parts of the visit was seeing all the buildings, especially the dining hall.

“Eating in the dining hall was really neat because it’s old-school architecture. It’s really cool,” he said.

Vonderheide said being there and talking with actual cadets was a good experience.

“That was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed that,” he said.

Even though Vonderheide was determined to get into West Point, he did have a backup plan.

He applied to the U.S. Naval Academy, which also requires a congressional nomination. He received one from U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth.

“I would have been happy to go there, but West Point was what I truly wanted, and so I just thought that I could hopefully get into one or the other,” he said.

Coincidentally, Vonderheide said he was wearing a Naval Academy T-shirt when he found out he was accepted to West Point.

“Which I thought was kind of funny,” he said.

Vonderheide admits he didn’t bother applying anywhere else.

“Looking back, I probably should have because I could have just as easily not gotten in,” he said.

Vonderheide wasn’t the first person in his family to learn he had been accepted. A representative of Miller’s office informed his parents, and he said his parents wanted the news to be a surprise when it appeared on the website.

“I was checking my candidate portal, and there was a little green box that said Congratulations!” he recalled.

Vonderheide said his family is excited for him.

“And, I think, a little bit nervous,” he said.

West Point offers a limited number of majors compared to other higher education institutions. Vonderheide hasn’t decided what he will major in yet but said he has some time, with all general education courses in the first year.

“I’m leaning toward history or maybe a foreign language because those are what I’m really interested in,” he said.

If he had the choice of foreign languages, Vonderheide said he would pick either German or Arabic.

“But, I’m not entirely sure,” he said.

Vonderheide must serve a minimum of five years following graduation from the military academy but is considering a career beyond that.

“Where it stands right now, I would kind of like to make a career of it, but we’ll see what the future has in store,” he said.

Vonderheide will report to West Point July 1. In the meantime, he’s helping his dad on the farm near Stewardson.

“He’s kind of in a rush to be sure to get everything in before his help leaves,” he said.

Vonderheide is also trying to stay physically in shape.

“That’s one of my biggest concerns because I didn’t really have any trouble academically, but physically is where I need to be sure to stay ahead,” he said.

To do that, he’s been running two miles every morning to gear up for the two-mile run in the Army fitness test.

One thing Vonderheide said he will miss about home, besides seeing his family and friends, is the terrain.

“I’m sure the mountains in New York will be kind of hard to run through as opposed to the nice flat roads here,” he said.

Vonderheide said he feels blessed to have the opportunity to attend West Point.

“I was honestly shocked to actually make it, and sometimes it’s crazy to think about that I’ll be going there in just days,” he said.

Vonderheide’s advice to someone wanting to attend West Point is perseverance.

“It does seem hard sometimes with the amount of paperwork and everything you’ve got to do, and the chances seem slim,” he said. “But, I think it’s a shot worth taking.”

Cathy Griffith can be reached at 618-510-9180 or cathy.griffith@effinghamdailynews.com.