Vice Chair Crowley Congratulates Jackson Heights Resident Derek Sherpa on Appointment to U.S. Naval Academy

Press Release

Today, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx), Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, announced the appointment of Jackson Heights resident, Derek Sherpa, to the prestigious United States Naval Academy. Sherpa, a senior at Aviation High School, was nominated to the academy by Crowley in December.

"Throughout his young life, Derek has challenged himself every step of the way and seized every opportunity before him," said Rep. Crowley. "As one of our community's best and brightest young students, Derek will, without a doubt, make a wonderful addition to the United States Naval Academy. Not only does he have the drive to be successful but he has demonstrated a real passion for serving his community."

"Being a part of the Naval Academy is an incredible honor," said Sherpa. "With Congressman Crowley's tremendous support and confidence, I was able to secure an early acceptance. I look forward to the experiences and challenges of this next chapter of my life and I hope to inspire and help others as much as I can."

A native of Nepal, Sherpa ranks in the top 10 percent of his class while taking several college-level courses. In addition, he is a member of the National Honor Society, the founder and president of the Entrepreneurship Club at his school, and he was member of American Airlines' PENCIL Fellows program, which provides students with essential college and career readiness skills.

As a member of Congress, Crowley has the privilege of nominating a select number of residents of New York's 14th Congressional District to four of the five service academies each year. The honor of attending a service academy comes with an obligation and commitment to serve in the military for a minimum of five years upon graduation. Appointments to service academies are highly competitive, with emphasis placed on academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, leadership skills, physical aptitude, character and motivation taken into consideration. Crowley's application period opens May 15th of each year for those candidates who are high school juniors and will be seniors the following school year, or who have already graduated.

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