Windermere Wolverine graduates from West Point

Jacob Goldberg was the first Windermere High School graduate to receive an appointment to one of the five United States service academies. Now, four years later, he is the first Windermere Wolverine to graduate from one of the prestigious military academies.

Goldberg completed his education at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point last month and was among the graduates at the May 25 ceremony and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. President Joe Biden was the guest speaker.

This also was Goldberg’s first graduation participation — he was in the Windermere High Class of 2020, which had no prom and no graduation ceremony because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent West Point graduating class even adopted this for its motto: “Like None Before 2024.”

Following the pomp and circumstance, Goldberg returned home to Winter Garden to attend his younger brother’s high school graduation and to spend two months with family and friends before moving forward with his new career at Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning) in Georgia.

PATH TO WEST POINT

Goldberg said his journey to West Point began in the eighth grade and he invested years of dedication and work to receive an appointment to the service academy.

“When I decided I wanted to go to West Point, I think it drove me to do a lot of things I would not have otherwise done, like trying out for sports, trying out for track team, getting better grades, taking better classes, going for leadership positions,” he said. “Just trying to get in itself prompted me to do the best I could do by seeking out all these activities.”

He also participated in marching band and was on the weightlifting team.

“I was driven to try to be well-rounded,” Goldberg said.

And it paid off when U.S. Rep. Val Demings nominated him for West Point.

He and the other plebes started their four-year experience under quarantine, wearing face masks and attending virtual classes. The six-week summer training was shortened to four.

Summers were Goldberg’s favorite season at West Point because he enjoyed the training — even the challenging sessions. The rest of the year was devoted to classroom study.

Every cadet is expected to take two language classes; Goldberg took Portuguese and decided to minor in the language. He also spent one semester abroad at the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras, a Brazilian military academy.

“It’s basically the equivalent of West Point but in Brazil,” Goldberg said. “It’s actually highly influenced by West Point. It was really interesting going there and seeing, not only another country’s culture, but another country’s culture at an academy that’s like us.”

Goldberg was part of the cavalry and trained with its armored vehicles during his semester there.

At West Point, he worked with tanks and armored vehicles and participated in recognizant missions and scoutings.

In between the lessons and practices, Goldberg spent all four years on the Spirit Band drumline, just as he did in high school.

“That was pretty cool because we played at the football games, and it got me out of drill,” he said.

The band traveled with the football team to all the away games, including trips to Atlanta, Philadelphia and Texas.

SECOND LIEUTENANT

And just like that, his four years at West Point came to a close, culminating with the May graduation.

“It was pretty cool, seeing the president in person,” he said. “And we all saluted him and got to shake his hand.”

This was actually Goldberg’s second time seeing a U.S. president — four years ago he saw President Donald Trump at the Army-Navy game.

In addition to his graduation certificate and commission as a second lieutenant, Goldberg earned academic and military achievement awards and was inducted into history and foreign language honor societies.

Home for a few months, Goldberg is taking some vacation days and preparing for what’s next. When his 60 days are up, he will be going to Fort Moore for Basic Officer Leader Course.

“West Point qualifies us to be an Army officer, then we go to BOLC to be qualified for a specific branch,” he said.

He will be working with tanks and armored vehicles and learning how to use them and how to plan and coordinate operations with them at a platoon level.

After about six months, Goldberg will join his unit, Second Brigade, Third Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He expects to do a rotation in Europe with his unit, training with NATO allies.

“I want to do the best that I can as an officer,” Goldberg said. “I still have a lot of training ahead … I want to do the best I can in learning.”