When Jared Ryley started thinking about college, even before he began attending Wheeler High School, his initial favorites were hardly surprising.
The University of Georgia and Georgia Tech topped the list, but as his high school days continued, his list expanded.
As his Eagle Scout application was being reviewed, a member of the selection council encouraged him to consider the U.S. Military Academy.
That person was a graduate of the Army’s service school in New York, and Ryley had mentioned his interests in studying engineering and pre-law.
“He said a great place to do that was West Point,” Ryley said.
“When I visited there, I met the cadets and realized I wanted to be like the people at the academy. You give up a lot, but you gain a lot.”
During the fall semester, Ryley was accepted for admission, after being nominated by U.S. Sen. David Perdue and U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath. 
In late June, Ryley will get an early start, depending on when newcomers will be allowed to arrive for orientation.
He figures there’s going to a strict lockdown, as is being planned now for graduating cadets, since President Donald Trump is scheduled to give a commencement address.
Ryley was to have heard his, on Wednesday, but Cobb schools have at least postponed in-person graduation, with tentative plans for something “memorable,” possibly over the summer.
By then, Ryley will be getting for the next phase of his life.
“All I know is it’s going to be different,” said Ryley, who was a student in Wheeler’s STEM magnet school. His diploma includes a certification in civil engineering, and he was lead engineer for Wheeler’s F1 team.
At Wheeler, he also took four years of Mandarin, founded the school’s recreational ultimate frisbee team and lettered in wrestling.
In the community, he’s been a youth group board advisor at Temple Kol Emeth and worked as a first aid advisor at the Woodruff Boy Scout Camp.
But it was his experience playing for the Roswell Rebels, a youth rugby team, that he found his ultimate connection with West Point.
He liked the discipline of the sport, with 15 players to a side, and said that unlike other sports, in rugby, “every single link across the chain has to be strong, or you will fail.”
In the ethos of the Army, and as a cadet at West Point, he sees a lot of similarities he likes.
“You’re surrounded by a group of people who are motivated to do the same thing,” he said.
Since Cobb schools stopped in-person classes in mid-March, Ryley has closed the books on high school studies.
He’s spent time working out, getting ready for the phyical rigors of being a cadet, and helping around the house with projects.
At time Ryley admits to some boredom, even after polishing off a 600-page book about George Washington.
“There hasn’t been much to do in quarantined America,” he said.
He was looking forward to the graduation ceremony. “Obviously I would have appreciated walking across that stage. . . . It’s kind of disheartening, that it’s something only we [the Class of 2020 ] is going to have to go through.
“But there are so many other people who are going through far worse because of the Coronavirus,” Ryley said.
In the meantime, he’s set a daily alarm with a countdown to the days before he heads to West Point, grateful for his high school days at Wheeler, but eager for what’s to come.
“I’m going to miss my hair,” he joked, acknowledging the cadet haircut to come.
“But I’m excited when my phone goes off at 6 a.m. I’m one day closer” to embarking on his new dream.
Related content
- Senior Salute: Lindsey Johnson, Lassiter High School
- Senior Salute: Iris Giulianelli, Kell High School
- Senior Salute: Josh Cook, Walton High School
- East Cobb seniors get their caps and gowns
- Cobb schools postpone in-person graduations
- The East Cobb Open for Business Directory
- East Cobb News COVID-19 Resource Page
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
