GMC News
First Self-Prep Service Academy Cadet Earns Appointment
First Self-Prep Service Academy Cadet Earns Appointment
In 2019, Georgia Military College (GMC) continued to grow as an official Military Service Academy Preparatory School program for the United States Service Academies. Today, GMC offers service academy preparatory programs for the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy and now also the U.S. Air Force Academy. And this year, GMC’s first U.S. Coast Guard Service Academy Self-Prep student has received an appointment to the United States Coast Guard Academy. Cadet Hayden Hendricks joined the GMC Corps of Cadets in the fall of 2018 with the hope that his academic and physical training here would earn him an appointment to attend the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA). After the winter quarter ended, Hendricks received his appointment.
The Virginia native applied to USCGA after he graduated from high school, but was denied admission. Working with the United States Coast Guard Academy, a recruiter recommended he attend one of their Preparatory schools for a year and then apply again. Hendricks chose to attend Georgia Military College and says that decision has helped get him to his dream school.
“Being a part of the GMC Corps of Cadets, I’ve been able to learn the militaristic lifestyle that I’ll be experiencing at the United States Coast Guard Academy,” Hendricks said. “Also I feel the classes that Dean [Laura] Booth has put the Coast Guard Academy cadets in has really prepared me for the amount of academic stress I’ll experience at the Academy. With the classes I’m taking now, I feel like I’ll be prepared for next year with better study habits and understanding the class material. I know GMC has helped me become a better student and gain a better understanding of myself personally.”
Hendricks comes from a U.S. Coast Guard family, with his brother-in-law currently serving. He says earning an appointment to the United States Coast Guard Academy has always been a goal of his.
“It’s just the most amazing feeling knowing all the hard work I put in, has paid off in the end,” Hendricks said.
Throughout his time at Georgia Military College, Hendricks has worked closely with the leadership cadre at GMC. Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell, IV, President of Georgia Military College, says Hendricks’ is “very deserving” of his appointment to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
“We are so excited for Cadet Hendricks on his appointment to the United States Coast Guard Academy,” Caldwell said. “We have formulated a top notch program for our Service Academy Scholars, one that prepares them for what they’ll experience if appointed to a U.S. Service Academy. Cadet Hendricks took full advantage of the opportunities provided here at GMC, and maintained a high GPA, and really working hard to achieve his goal of an appointment to the Academy. We are so proud of him and know that he will be a great leader for the United States Coast Guard.”
