2019 Upper School Vedette: Issue 3

The

Vedette

Issue 3 July 31st, 2019

Goodbye, Summer 2019!

Lilliana Rivera, Deck 1

My favorite memory of Culver Summer 2019 has been on the Ledbetter—an experience I will never forget.

Boarding the Ledbetter ship and being able to climb fifty-five feet high, all the way to the highest point on the boat, was the first time I ever felt so carefree and happy. Once I climbed and reached the top of the Ledbetter, I was confident that being on the Ledbetter crew was the right place for me.

The Ledbetter Crew is different from taking the class. In order to join the crew, you must first take a ninety-question test and then be interviewed by a staff member. Once everyone has taken the test and been interviewed, a specific amount of people is selected depending on how you did in the interview and how well you scored on the test. I must admit, studying for this test was a challenge, and I was debating on whether or not I should attempt to be a part of the crew. As we know, the Ledbetter is a huge boat with fifteen sails and more ropes than you can imagine.

Learning each part of the boat, why it works the way it does, and how it works requires a great deal of dedication. You must also know them well since you are competing against other campers to secure your spot in the crew.

The people in the crew, including the instructors, are so fun and welcoming; you undoubtedly feel right at home. You are surrounded by people who enjoy doing something just as much as you do and can share great experiences together. Being a part of something like the Ledbetter crew automatically makes you a part of something bigger. In order to be able to sail the Ledbetter, everyone must play their part. I can easily say my favorite part of Culver so far has been joining Ledbetter crew and becoming a part of something so amazing.

Matthew McClenahan, Troop

Not everyone is perfect and, here at Culver, people make mistakes. Some of those mistakes aren’t remembered, but here are some events that were such an embarrassing feat that they became humorous and memorable.

One trooper’s embarrassing moment here at Culver was calling “Eyes right!”, on the left foot. This just messed up the entire unit as they all listened to the Unit Commander. They all got gigged on eyes right and then got yelled at.

Another embarrassing thing that has happened at Culver was missing a soccer punt when there was no goalie.

Someone had a clear shot…and missed. Cost his team the game. Oops!

Falling out of formation is always embarrassing, no matter the circumstance, and a midshipman was slipping and falling on the steps going into the dining hall. He fell out of formation in front of the Reg and Military Staff. Whew!!

Pretty embarrassing!

Another “fun” moment that happened at Culver this summer was when a midshipman called step sounding like a goat as First Sergeant. The entire unit was laughing; so many gigs were given.

Finally, one of the most amusing things that has happened to someone at Culver was when a midshipman’s’ 420 sailboat got stuck on the beach and wasn’t moving. They had no idea what it was stuck on and spent thirty minutes trying to pull it out only to find that the centerboard was stuck all the way down in the sand.

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Culver Summer Schools & Camps / / Vedette

Compiled by Tatyana Sentoro, Deck 1

“Moonlight Serenade” - Zachary Crump, Fortworth, Texas, Troop “My favorite memory is when I got to my deck, and I realized that I was 100% sure that I was going to make a lot of friends. Another one is when we had our first social with our brother company.”Sofia Gutierrez , Mexico City, Mexico, Deck 5 “My favorite memory from 2019 is the first night of Ledbetter Crew. All the people on the crew make it really fun to be a part of.”

- Abby Lynch, Indianapolis, Indiana, Deck 5 “My favorite Culver memory from this year is capsizing in sailing class with my friends Sofia and George; we laughed, and it was fun.”

– Eleanor Shepard, Nashville, Tennessee, Deck 3 “The most memorable moment I can think of right now is falling off of my horse, Rambler #81.” – Tatyana Sentoro, Valparaiso, Indiana, Deck 1 “My favorite memory is sitting in the shack with Quinn, Maggie, and Julio, and making a crown for a Swedish Fish out of another fish’s tail to create the king Swedish Fish.” – Gigi Huber, Columbus, Ohio, Deck 6 “My mom came to the Games Of Strategy class, and we played UNO, and it was cool.” – Suzanne Evans, Plymouth, Indiana, Deck 3 “My favorite memory is when I had my first cheeseballs of the summer in the shack.” – Isabela Barahona, Ecuador, Deck 2 “Going out on permit with my friends.” – Jacob Shaffer, Chesterton, Indiana, Troop “My favorite memory was the Mud Run.” – M.J. Mull, Memphis, Tennessee, Aviation “Semaphore competitions!” – Willow Volkert, Chicago, Ilinois, Deck 6 “My favorite memory would just be reading quotes from my friend’s quote book and remembering all of the funny things that have happened this summer.” - Maggie Aylesworth, Houston, Texas, Deck 6 “Homecoming is my favorite Culver summer 2019 memory.” – Brandon Peck, Dayton, Ohio, Aviation “Getting up on a slolom ski, first try.” – Xavier Howard, Westfield, Indiana, Naval Band “Solving a Rubik’s cube in 20.269 seconds.” – David Simon, Omaha, Nebraska, Naval Band “My favorite Culver memory is learning how to do crypto and sailing.” – Jose Estrada, Boca del Rio-Veracruz, Mexico, Naval 4 “Ledbetter Crew.” – Lilliana Rivera, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Deck 1 “Winning our first banner for the summer.” – Talal Abu Taleb, Amman, Jordan, Naval 3 “My favorite Culver 2019 memory is when I got the Troop Unit Commander position.” – Matthew McClenahan , San Francisco, California, Troop Culver Summer Schools & Camps / / Vedette

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Sleeping at Culver be like: - Tatyana Sentoro, Deck 1

The golf-shop quartet - Eleanor Shepard, Deck 3

When you finally get to wear regular clothes.

- Lee Greene, AVA

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Culver Summer Schools & Camps / / Vedette

Eleanor Shepard, Deck 3

People have asked me if I like Culver. The answer is always, “I’m loving it.” They ask me if I’m coming back, the answer is, “definitely.” Why? I’m coming back next year because of the thrill of reliving every memory that I’ve created so far like, cheering with my friends, going to the track meets, sailing, and dancing at the socials. I’m coming back next year because I’m looking forward to making new memories that involve new friends, taking new risks, and new classes.

There are a lot of classes at Culver

Summer School and Camps, but one of my favorites is sailing. People who take this class know how it feels to fly above the water or how scary it feels when you are about to capsize, but that’s what makes it fun. Being with your friends alone, floating in water, just talking and sometimes yelling at each other when we don’t know what to do is one of the best memories I’ve ever made here.

To some people, Culver may be six weeks long. For others, it’s only six weeks long.

People grow to love this place so much that six weeks is not enough time. Now that we have so very little time here left, I’m not counting the days until camp ends, I’m counting the days until I can come back to Culver—to come back home.

Brandon Peck, AVA

Two years ago, Culver aviation switched airports. The differences were noticeable in many ways. ranging from the number of students who achieve solo flights to which direction planes use to takeoff and land.

Most airports use a left-hand traffic pattern, which is ideal for students to train on. Plymouth uses one, however Starke County’s airport does not. Rather, it uses a right-hand traffic pattern which is uncommon compared to the left-hand pattern. Students prefer this as it is easier to land at other airports who use a left-hand pattern, unlike Starke. Students and pilots prefer Plymouth over Starke and those who have used both airports prefer Plymouth.

Culver Summer Schools & Camps / / Vedette

While eleven student pilots have achieved solo flight over three years at Knox, six have Soloed throughout two years at Plymouth. Plymouth flight programs have soloed students much earlier in the year than Knox did. One thing Knox has that Plymouth lacks is a grass runway which students need to practice on early in their aviation careers. Plymouth flight programs have been more organized and by the book which is good considering most of aviation is protocol memorization.

Plymouth airport has also managed to increase flight time; students can purchase and fly more hours as it is more organized. Plymouth flight training lets the student fly as often as they want, which did not happen at Knox. Students and pilots express more favor towards Plymouth airport as it has been more efficient than the previous program.

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Lilliana Rivera, Deck 1

The year 1934 was when my great grandfather, Dale H. Tanner, graduated from Winter School. Not only did he graduate, but he was awarded the Myra and Oliver Award for “Best All Around Athlete” in his class. Now, his name is on a plaque in the Denton Athlete Hall of Fame. My grandfather is very fond of Culver, and one thing he always hoped for was that his grandchildren would have the chance to come to Culver. I currently have one sibling who is a third-classmen in Naval One and a cousin who is a first-classmen in Deck Four. For my family, Culver is a once in a lifetime opportunity and a place that they believe is going to help us succeed in the future.

I’ll be the first to admit that coming to Culver my first year was not an easy task. The idea of military camp was hard to wrap my head around and being in a new environment, for six weeks, on my own was vastly difficult. Even though my first year at Culver was the most challenging, it has been the year that I learned the most from. The hard moments helped shape me into the person I am today. I learned to be more self-confident, independent, follow others, handle difficult situations and most importantly, take

responsibility for myself. My second-class year, although I was more prepared and knew what to expect, I still had a lot to work on. I learned when the right time to lead others was and when to step back, but primarily, I learned the meaning of unity. As a second-classmen, you realize that Culver is all about bringing people together; you have to trust and put your faith in the people who form your unit.

Currently, I am a first classman. This summer, the main thing I’ve learned are three simple words: “Leaders eat last.” Our Commandant, Captain Tim Miller is especially passionate about that phrase. As a first-classmen, the second and third classmen expect us to lead and guide them. Culver is a place where great leaders are made; this place gives us the right resources and support we need in order to develop to our fullest potential. If you take advantage of the opportunities you have here, the possibilities to learn new things and grow are endless. For me, Culver taught me many life lessons that I can take and use to my advantage in the future. Make the best out of this summer—keep an open mindset and create lifelong memories.

Congratulations to the 2019 Great Race and Pegasus winners: Deck 3 and Troop!

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Culver Summer Schools & Camps / / Vedette

Head of Schools. Although this place is very unique and different, Dr. Bird uses his experiences as something to reflect upon in the challenging situations.

Eleanor Shepard, Deck 3 & Sofia Gutierrez, Deck 5

At the top of the list is, of course, air conditioning. The heat in some dormitories makes it hard for people to sleep at night or relax in their free time, and air conditioning would be greatly appreciated. Also, if all of the dorms have air conditioning, the decks wouldn’t have to rotate their location every couple of years.

Decks should have official logos and unique names like the Naval Companies, such as “Lucky Three,” “Royal Blue,” and “Power One” to build excitement and team spirit. Also, the boys should go to girls’ games and cheer. The girls often cheer for the boys’ games, and it would be great if they could return the favor.

It would be interesting to have more sports, such as softball, baseball, girls’ basketball, ultimate frisbee, lacrosse, and golf, but to have each competition only once or twice. That way, there is a wider variety of opportunities for each team to shine. This also would probably move the banners around more due to the different talents of team members.

Even though so far, we’ve had a wonderful summer, it can’t ever be perfect. Being the Head of Schools means you’ll have to make some hard decisions. But, just like the rest of the Summer staff, Dr. Bird wishes nothing but a successful summer for us all. One of the most fun things he has been around for this summer has been the registration process the first day of camp. He loves to see us campers come together once again or even for the first time from all parts of the world. The action on registration day and the smiles he sees in everyone’s faces shows him that we are all very happy to be back at our home away from our home.

A thing that has amazed Dr. Bird this summer has been how welcoming everyone has been. From campers to staff members, Dr. Bird has felt nothing but support from all of us. Although it is not surprising to him that people have been wishing him well on his new role—he expects nothing less from the caring Culver community—but the amount of people has been astonishing to him.

There should be a greater variety of vegetarian options in the Dining Hall; sometimes it is hard for vegetarians to find a healthy option that isn’t just a salad. One other thing is mandatory movies. I don’t know anyone who likes mandatory movies, but sometimes they are necessary because of weather. However, it would be more enjoyable if we could sit with who we want.

Lilliana Rivera, Deck 1

We have known Dr. Doug Bird for almost three years since he started working at Culver. He started off as our Director of Summer Schools and Camps and recently switched over to being our Head of Schools. We have seen Dr. Bird around campus, and most of us have had the opportunity to talk to him. As we know, he is a great man with a fantastic vision for the future of Culver.

Surprisingly enough, Dr. Bird didn’t ever imagine he would be coming back someday as the Head of Schools. He served in the Marine Corps and afterwards decided to become a teacher for middle school, eventually becoming a school administrator. It wasn’t until two years ago, when he worked as the Director of Summer Schools and Camps, that he realized he wanted to pursue the opportunity to become Head of Schools. Dr. Bird believes that his education and training at Culver really prepared him to become our Head of Schools. He understands the “Culver lifestyle” very well, especially the military leadership system and how we develop leaders since he is a Culver graduate. Also, his experiences here at Culver have specifically qualified him to be Culver Summer Schools & Camps / / Vedette

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Thank you for letting us make your summer!