Most students have never thought about risking their lives for something. This is not the case for senior Boaz Abramoff. For him, there is no better future than giving back to the country that saved his family. 

“My family’s Jewish and they lived in Europe during the war. And our grandpa always talked about [hiding] in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam,” Abramoff said. “He remembers hiding in the basement of a bakery in Amsterdam and he always remembers the boots of the Allied troops that came in and liberated Amsterdam, the Netherlands.” 

His grandfather reflects on these moments with gratefulness that was passed on to the next generations.

The Abramoff family continued to have military connections in America, where the service academies caught the brothers’ eye. Boaz grew up listening to his brothers’ military academy ambitions. 

“So my oldest brother Yair went to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. And then he graduated from there in 2019 and then Nathan, the middle brother, he went to the Air Force Academy and he graduated this spring in 2021,” Abramoff said. 

Like his brothers, Abramoff has similar ambitions of attending one of the service academies. 

The path to the military through one of the academies is not as easy as standard college applications. There are five service academies: the U.S Army Academy is West Point in upstate New York; the U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; U.S Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs; the U.S Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York and the U.S Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. All academies aside from the Coast Guard use a two-step competitive application process. These steps are prequalification and nomination.

The prequalification process involves ensuring that applicants are physically and medically fit, as well as submitting a preliminary application in their junior year of high school. Applicants must receive a nomination from a Congressional Representative or Senator. This typically involves face-to-face interviews and an in-depth examination of the applicant. The application for the Coast Guard is more similar to that of standard college applications and is available online. 

Interested students should take time to seriously consider their choice of applying to an Academy, as everything about them is far more strict and rigorous than standard colleges. 

Another less competitive option is Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. This process is through a college or university. Every branch offers ROTC at many schools across the country. The military pays for cadets’ education and training in exchange for a commitment to serve for a minimum of three years following graduation. 

Boaz has begun to think about what he wishes to do upon his exit from training, whether that is one of the Academies or ROTC at a university. 

“I’ve always [thought about] the Navy because I kind of want to be a Navy pilot, like Top Gun, you know, flying really fast and landing ships and stuff. That’s always been kind of the dream,” Abramoff said. 

He is referencing the 1986 action movie Top Gun, featuring Tom Cruise as a fighter pilot. This movie was based on Topgun pilots and soldiers in the Vietnam War. 

There are still single-pilot fighter pilot positions in the military across the branches, though their job is not always as fun and glamorous as the movie makes it appear. 

This desire to serve is derived from a need to give back to the United States.

The Abramoff family immigrated to the United States about a month before Boaz was born. His older brothers were both born in the Netherlands, where their family is from. 

The generational impact the allied soldiers had on the Abramoff family is a clear reason behind Boaz’s desire to serve. 

“The U.S. and the Allies during World War Two saved my family. Also, you know America is the reason that me, my brothers, my family, have the life we have now. For me, I think being born here was a blessing. I’m very lucky,” Abramoff said.

It is this desire to give back to the country that saved his family that inspires Boaz to want more than just three years of service. He is looking at a long-term military career. 

“I’m seventeen, I don’t know that much about the world or what I want, but I think that I would stay and do something, whether it’s some sort of leadership role or something, where I feel I’m still giving something to the [America] to, the military,” Abramoff said.

As graduation approaches and the future nears, Boaz Abramoff begins his journey of service, with hopes of making his family proud and giving back to the country that gave so much to him.