Soldier at heart

The room is silent as he stares at himself in the mirror. Instead of putting on his usual choice of a white T-shirt and tennis shoes, he is wearing a soldier's uniform. Instead of carrying textbooks in his hands, he grasps a leather-bound folder. Inside is the key to his future.

This young man is senior Julius Kim of Green Valley High School, and in September of this school year, he received his acceptance letter to West Point Military Academy.

"The application process was very tedious," Kim says. "I had to fill out a resume, send in transcripts, receive recommendations from congressmen and complete the actual application. I applied over the summer, which is why I got my acceptance letter in September."

Kim's mother, Diane Moon, says she and her husband were extremely pleased after he received his acceptance.

"I was very excited and proud of my son because it is very tough and time-consuming to get into that school," Moon says. "Since he was a child, his dream was to serve in the military, and he has worked so hard to make his dream come true."

Kim agrees he has stayed committed to his dreams of attending West Point and joining the military.

"It might sound cheesy, but I want to be the hero," Kim says. "I want to spend my life developing capabilities and protecting people when they need it. My parents raised me to be a valedictorian who goes to an Ivy League school, but I knew that wasn't for me. I've always wanted to join the military, and when I heard about West Point, I knew I wanted to go there."

As a freshman, Kim tried out for the basketball team but did not make it, so he went out for track and cross-country and found his true talent as a runner, which he claims has helped him greatly in securing a spot at West Point.

"You need to excel in the basic academic requirements, such as two years of a foreign language along with the required amount of core classes, to get into West Point," Kim says. "You also have to pass a physical test, which consists of push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, a mile run, a basketball throw and a shuttle run."

Along with seeing him as a talented athlete, many of Kim's acquaintances also say he has a strong and driven character and an ability to conquer anything.

"Julius showed up at cross-country for the first time his sophomore year, and after about three weeks, we could already tell he was going to be good," says cross-country and track coach Blaine Thompson. "I think the greatest ability he has is to be able to endure pain. He looks past it and pushes himself to be as good as he can be."

Kim also has challenged himself mentally throughout his high school career, having participated in the International Baccalaureate program his junior year and having taken on as many rigorous classes as possible his senior year.

"I put myself through the IB program for one year but decided to drop it because I really didn't need it," Kim says. "I had my goal, and I knew what I had to do to get there. Now I'm taking as many AP classes as I can."

Kim's government teacher, Jeri Roberts, says that although Kim is no longer part of the IB program, he is a very intelligent and unusual student.

"Julius is an extremely bright young man," Roberts says. "When he puts his mind to something, he can do exceptionally well, but when something isn't interesting to him, he disengages completely."

Having ranked in the top six spots in the state competition for cross-country and earning the third best time in the mile run for track, Kim has built a prestigious and honorable reputation for himself among his peers and superiors at Green Valley.

"Julius is very goal-oriented, tough and hard-working, and I respect him for that," coach Thompson says. "He definitely has what it takes to go to West Point."

Although he is excited about leaving for West Point, which he says "looks like a castle and feels like home," Kim says he will miss his family and especially his mother's homestyle cooking.

"I won't be home very often and will probably only get to see my family once or twice a year, and I'm going to miss them a lot," Kim says. "I'm definitely going to miss my mom's Asian cooking because when I'm at West Point, we are going to be on a restricted diet of mostly meat and whatever else they give us."

As a future member of the military, Kim will be required to complete eight years of mandatory service. During this time, he has other plans.

"I plan on going to grad school sometime during my eight years of mandatory service to study international relations and law," Kim says. "I also want to serve for the Ranger Special Forces Regiment. I plan to serve for life. My direct bloodline is military royalty."