SHERIDAN — Sheridan High School senior Sean Fitzgerald has been interested in pursuing a military career for the past several years. He will officially begin that pursuit in June when he enters the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Fitzgerald said he attended the academy’s summer seminar last year, and that put him “over the top.”
“I was interested before, especially since my dad had been in the Navy and since I had been in JROTC for the past years, but after that summer session, I knew I wanted to attend the academy and have a career in the Navy,” he said.
“The experience in just a week was amazing … the motivation, the people you are around, the connections you make, the friends you make,” he said. “And that was just a week. Four years of that, I think, would be amazing.”
Fitzgerald, the 17-year-old son of Dennis and Lee Anne Fitzgerald of Ico, graduated Friday, along with 266 other seniors, in ceremonies at the Jack Stephens Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. With a 4.2667 grade-point average, he is ranked sixth in his class and was a distinguished honor graduate.
Fitzgerald said he learned of his acceptance to the Naval Academy in January.
“I received a telephone call from Congressman Hill (U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark.) on Jan. 3,” Fitzgerald said. “I received the nomination for an appointment from him last September.
“I report to duty on June 29. I hope to go into aviation. I plan to major in some kind of engineering. The academy is one of the top engineering schools in the country.”
In an essay submitted with his application to the academy, Fitzgerald wrote, “My drive to attend the Naval Academy began with my father. Having retired as a commander qualified in submarines and Seabee combat warfare, my father stood with a different aura than those around him who had never made similar sacrifices and devotions to our country.”
Fitzgerald said his grandfather, James Fitzgerald of Malvern, had also served in the military, completing three years in the Army.
“I know my commitment to the Navy after I graduate will be five years, but I plan to serve at least 20 years,” Sean Fitzgerald said. “Then I’d like to come back home to Sheridan and give back to the community. So many people here have helped me; I would like to return that back to the community and help others.”
Fitzgerald was born in Little Rock, where he attended Miss Selma’s School before entering the Sheridan School District in the fourth grade. He has two older brothers — Kane, 22, who works in Little Rock, and Connor, 20, who is a nursing student at Arkansas State University.
Sean Fitzgerald has been active in sports at Sheridan High School. He played soccer and football and ran cross country. He had leadership roles in the Future Business Leaders of America, the Student Council, the National Honor Society and Quiz Bowl, and he was a battalion commander in JROTC. His community service includes participating in the Arkansas Log a Load for Kids fundraising efforts for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, including Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, and participating with the FBLA chapter to assist veterans at the Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center in North Little Rock.
Fitzgerald also attended Boys State in 2016.
Lt. Col. Clark Easter, JROTC instructor at Sheridan High School, said Fitzgerald is very deserving of the appointment to the Naval Academy.
“Mr. Fitzgerald is the real deal,” Easter said. “Unlike most scholarships, which are based primarily on just academics or athleticism, an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy looks at the whole person. He is a scholar, athlete, leader and a community servant. He embodies what the military is looking for in its future leaders.”