Torres to attend US Coast Guard Academy

Christine Dela Cruz Torres, of Capitol Hill, Saipan, has been selected to be part of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s Class of 2008. She is the first person from the CNMI to accept an appointment from a U.S. Service Academy after being enlisted.

Torres first enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and left Saipan in August 2002 for U.S. Coast Guard basic training in Cape May, New Jersey. She graduated basic training on Sept. 20, 2002, and received orders to the Engineering Department of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mellon, a 378’ high-endurance cutter home-ported in Seattle, Washington.

After conducting a two-month fisheries and search-and-rescue patrol in Alaska’s Bering Sea, the Mellon was directed to San Diego, California, to conduct operational training to prepare for a deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

While in San Diego, Torres received word that she was selected to attend the U.S. Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island.

During the 10-month school year at NAPS, she was her platoon’s Honor Representative, and during the second trimester did not only fill that position, but also became her platoon’s Executive Officer as well. Meeting the physical and academic requirements of both NAPS and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, she graduated NAPS on May 14, 2004, and received her appointment to the Academy soon after.

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is one of the five U.S. Service Academies, home to just a little over 800 cadets. The Academy offers eight major degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Marine and Environmental Science, Operations Research, Mathematics, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Management, and Government.

Cadets receive full tuition, room and board, complete medical and dental benefits, and a monthly allowance that increases each year. They spend summers aboard U.S. Coast Guard missions. Graduates from the Academy receive a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard.

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is the only U.S. Service Academy that does not require a congressional nomination—acceptance is based solely on personal merit. An average of 6,000 students apply to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy every year, of which only a little over 300 are selected—about a 6-percent acceptance rate. Applicants must at least be 17 but not pass their 23rd birthday upon entrance into the Academy, may not be pregnant or have dependents, and must meet the Academy’s physical and academic requirements.

When asked why she continued to pursue the U.S. Coast Guard Academy even after being enlisted for two years, Torres said: “My goal is to become an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, and even though there have been ‘bumps in the road,’ I won’t keep my eyes off that goal until I reach it.”

Torres graduated with honors from Mount Carmel School in 2002. In high school, she was a member of the National Honor Society, was active in the school’s drama and church programs, and attended the Junior Statesman of America program for three consecutive summers. She was also active in the community as one of the first hosts of Power 99’s “Teen Talk Live” and was vice-speaker of the 4th CNMI Youth Congress.

Torres is the daughter of Antonio T. and Consolacion DLC. Torres of Capitol Hill, Saipan.