Temescal Canyon Student Selected for Prestigious Naval Academy Summer Program

A local student has been selected as one of only 2,550 in the nation to attend a summer seminar run by the United States Naval Academy.

Temescal Canyon High School Junior David Duenas will attend the program when school is let out for summer break.

His mother tells Patch that upon graduation from high school, he hopes to attend the naval academy.

David, who has a 4.1 GPA and is ranked eleventh in his class of 478, currently works as an intern for Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, while also volunteering his time at the Riverside National Cemetery.

He's also into local sports.

"David is currently on the Varsity Track Team at his school - this is his third year on the varsity team," his mother Betty Duenas tells Patch.  "He is an avid runner and participates in various local events such as the Unity in the Community (Lake Elsinore), Red, White and Blue 5k (Lake Elsinore) and most recently the San Diego Holiday Half Marathon."

Here is the full release from the United States Naval Academy about David's acceptance to the summer program:

The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) invited a select group of approximately 2,550 young men and women from around the nation and abroad to attend the Naval Academy Summer Seminar program this year. Summer Seminar is a fast-paced leadership experience for rising seniors in high school.  This program helps educate, motivate and prepare selected students who are considering applying for admission to USNA.

David Duenas, a student at Temescal Canyon High School in Lake Elsinore, California, will participate in the 2014 U.S. Naval Academy Summer Seminar program.

Summer Seminar teaches prospective applicants about life at the Naval Academy, where academics, athletics, and professional training are key elements in developing our nation's leaders. Each student will attend a six-day session and experience a glimpse of USNA life. Students will have the opportunity to live in Bancroft Hall, eat in King Hall along with participating in academic and leadership workshops. They will also participate in daily physical training involving group runs and conditioning exercises. They will experience first-hand what the Naval Academy has to offer through its exceptional academic, athletic, extracurricular activities and leadership training programs. 

Summer Seminar has an academic focus, with each student attending eight 90-minute workshops, covering subjects from information technology, naval architecture and mechanical engineering, to oceanography, mathematics, history and meteorology. Students will also participate in seamanship and navigation classes and will take a cruise aboard a Navy Yard Patrol (YP) Craft to apply what they will learn in class. Naval Academy Midshipmen lead  Summer Seminar with oversight by active-duty Navy and Marine Corps officers.

Founded in 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy is a prestigious four-year college that prepares midshipmen morally, mentally and physically to be professional officers in the naval service.  More than 4,400 men and women representing every state in the U.S. and several foreign countries make up the student body, known as the Brigade of Midshipmen. Midshipmen learn from military and civilian instructors and participate in intercollegiate varsity sports and extracurricular activities. All Midshipmen are on full scholarship and have a choice of 23 different majors.  Additionally they study   small arms, drill, seamanship and navigation, tactics, naval engineering and weapons, leadership, ethics and military law as part of their education.  Upon graduation, midshipmen earn a Bachelor of Science degree and go on to serve at least five years of exciting and rewarding service as commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps.

For more information about the Naval Academy, please visit: www.usna.edu or the USNA Admissions Facebook page.