From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

College isn't the only path for seniors

By Shira Poliak
Weinbaum Yeshiva High

May 8 2008

This September, as her fellow high school graduates settle into freshmen dorms and acquaint themselves with the challenges and opportunities of college life, Casey Weliver, a St. Thomas Aquinas senior, will be embarking on a similar, yet profoundly different, experience.

Weliver will enroll in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Like her peers, she will engage in a challenging course load inside the classroom, but Weliver will also commit her studies and summers to extensive military training. She is obligated to serve at least five years as a U.S. Army officer after graduation.

Weliver, who will play competitive soccer at West Point, said she wants the challenge the army offers and the opportunity to develop her leadership and problem-solving skills. She "doesn't want to live a monotonous daily life."

I also have chosen a non-traditional transition from high school to college.

I will spend my next year in an Israeli immersion program studying advanced Judaic texts in Jerusalem, Israel, before enrolling in Barnard College in 2009.

By devoting a year to rigorous Judaic studies, thousands of miles from my South Florida home, I hope to actively study my heritage's teachings and more deeply connect to Israel, its culture and its people. I want to mold and challenge my beliefs before