Mark Glaeser '14 Dropping Anchor in Pearl Harbor
Christ School graduate finishing up at Naval Academy before assignment
Now that's a triple crown. Mark Glaeser '14 was accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) as a senior at Christ School. Glaeser weighed his options and went with Navy. Now after four years in Annapolis, Maryland, the Mechanical Engineering major is ready to go after a career in nuclear power. It will be a five-year process. First, Glaeser will be aboard the USS John Paul Jones destroyer in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for two years. After that, there is a year of school in Charleston, S.C., and finally two years on an aircraft carrier in Japan, San Diego, or Everett, Washington.
Question: Overall, what do you make of your experience at Navy?
Answer: Being completely honest, it has been absolutely incredible. Everyone hates the first two years because you are really limited in what you can do as an underclassmen. But every year here, the quality of life gets significantly better. The people I've met are just incredible. I'm still close with a lot of my Christ School friends, too. But I've made friends here who I can mountain bike with, ski with, and hike with.
Question: How did you end up getting assigned to Pearl Harbor?
Answer: We did service selection in November. I had two main options – Surface Warfare and Nuclear Surface Warfare. There was no reason not to take the nuclear option because I want to get a nuclear power degree, which also comes with top-secret clearance. There are some great bonuses, monetarily, and (a career in nuclear power) is my overall goal.
Question: I see you were a member of the academy's ski and snowboard team. What was that like?
Answer: I absolutely loved it. When you're an underclassman, you don't ordinarily get to leave on Fridays. But we did because we were part of the team. I was skiing with a really good group. Even though it was easier skiing on smaller mountains, East Coast skiing I guess you would call it, I improved tremendously.
Question: I know it wasn't that long ago, but what are your memories of your time at Christ School?
Answer: The academy has been great to me, and I have to say it was just a continuation of what I experienced at Christ School. Great people and teachers who care. The lifestyle was really similar – living away from home, the academic structure. Honestly, my freshman year was one of the easiest years I've ever had academically. I was very much ahead of a lot of my peers by coming from Christ School.
