From tennis courts to naval yards
Stacey Howe
Issue date: 11/2/09 Section: News
The academics and everyday life at the academy are also reasons why she wanted to attend. She likes the disciplined lifestyle, and the academy is a great place for her to study political science and Arabic, although tennis is not one of her priorities anymore.
"Amanda was a very studious student while at Western. She was always on top of her studies," said Stephanie Baumer, Griffin's teammate. "She was extremely focused on tennis and excelled at it to the best of her ability. She was never below average in anything and always strived to do the best in anything that she tried."
The road to the Naval Academy was not always filled with yellow bricks. During her younger years, she was a basketball player as well as a track runner. By the time she got to high school she chose to concentrate on one sport.
After her first year in college at Fresno State in California in the fall of 2006, Griffin was introduced to the academy by getting a summer job as a tennis camp coach. She then decided to apply.
Months later, Griffin accepted a scholarship to play tennis at Western. Despite the opportunity, she still had high hopes of getting into the Naval Academy. After her sophomore year, she received a letter of rejection, but that did not stop her. She started reapplying to the school, only telling her family and those who were writing her letters of recommendation.
She was accepted into the academy and is now coming closer to living her dream. After the academy she is hoping to service select Marine Ground operations. Her goal is to eventually work in either foreign affairs or intelligence involving the Middle East and will serve for a minimum of five years.
"I know I made the right choice by transferring. The academy is something I've wanted more than anything else, and I can't imagine myself being anywhere else now. It's the right school for me, and I'm the right person for it. I love the structured and disciplined lifestyle, but when I feel the most exhausted, I just remember that I finally made it here."
"Amanda was a very studious student while at Western. She was always on top of her studies," said Stephanie Baumer, Griffin's teammate. "She was extremely focused on tennis and excelled at it to the best of her ability. She was never below average in anything and always strived to do the best in anything that she tried."
The road to the Naval Academy was not always filled with yellow bricks. During her younger years, she was a basketball player as well as a track runner. By the time she got to high school she chose to concentrate on one sport.
After her first year in college at Fresno State in California in the fall of 2006, Griffin was introduced to the academy by getting a summer job as a tennis camp coach. She then decided to apply.
Months later, Griffin accepted a scholarship to play tennis at Western. Despite the opportunity, she still had high hopes of getting into the Naval Academy. After her sophomore year, she received a letter of rejection, but that did not stop her. She started reapplying to the school, only telling her family and those who were writing her letters of recommendation.
She was accepted into the academy and is now coming closer to living her dream. After the academy she is hoping to service select Marine Ground operations. Her goal is to eventually work in either foreign affairs or intelligence involving the Middle East and will serve for a minimum of five years.
"I know I made the right choice by transferring. The academy is something I've wanted more than anything else, and I can't imagine myself being anywhere else now. It's the right school for me, and I'm the right person for it. I love the structured and disciplined lifestyle, but when I feel the most exhausted, I just remember that I finally made it here."
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