Mehlville senior receives appointments

to both West Point and Naval Academy

Mehlville Senior High School senior Adam Ruckman has a tough choice to make about his post-high school plans as he has earned an appointment to both West Point and the Naval Academy.

Each appointment includes a full, four-year scholarship. In addition, he has been selected to receive an NROTC scholarship to Purdue University, which provides full tuition and books for four years.

Before receiving the appointments at West Point and the Naval Academy, Ruck-man first had to apply to become a candidate.

Part of his application required obtaining letters of recommendation, which he received from U.S. Rep. Richard Gep-hardt, U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond and former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan.

Ruckman, 18, also needed to demonstrate a strong academic ability and a penchant for extracurricular activities to earn the appointments. That was no problem as he has a 3.918 grade-point average and earned the Mehlville High School Scholar Athlete title by posting the best grade-point average on the football team.

Ruckman also stars on Mehlville’s wrestling team and does volunteer work in the community.

Ruckman plans to visit both the Naval Academy and West Point this month before deciding which appointment to ac-cept. His parents are Dan Ruckman of Ha-zelwood and Kimberly and Doug Cissell of Mehlville.