Kewaunee grad Vollenweider off to West Point

Jeffrey (J.J.) Vollenweider, Jr., of Kewaunee is on his way this weekend to West Point, N.Y., for the next chapter of his life.
Yes, that West Point, home of the United States Military Academy. Vollenweider was accepted into the academy and received a Certificate of Appointment from Ret. Maj. Gen. Paul Lima of the U.S. Army, on behalf of President Donald Trump, at Kewaunee High School’s Senior Award night May 23.
Vollenweider, the son of Jeff and Vicki Vollenweider, is the first Kewaunee graduate — as far as known, the first student from Kewaunee County — to be accepted to West Point. He will be sworn into the military Monday and begin Cadet Basic Training as part of the academy’s Class of 2021.
Lima, state coordinator of the Wisconsin Field Force for the academy’s Admissions Department, noted in his speech presenting Vollenweider with the certificate that about 15,000 young men and women across the country apply to get into West point each year, but fewer than 1,200 are accepted.
Lima also said that the academic scholarship Vollenweider and other West Point students receive carries a total value of about $500,000. He added the academy produce more Rhodes Scholars than any college or university in the country except Ivy League institutions Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
“Those who are accepted will spend the next four years at a beautiful, historic and demanding venue that is the world’s premier leadership institution, a place with such famous leaders among its graduates as (Gens.) Eisenhower, MacArthur, Grant, Lee, Schwarzkopf and (Raymond) Odiemo,” said Lima, himself a 1967 West Point graduate.
Vollenweider is a National Honor Society member and while attending Kewaunee was elected student body vice-president. He also was on the varsity track and football teams and participated in Badger Boys State. Outside of school, he attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin: Kewaunee grad Vollenweider off to West Point