You never forget the day you take your oath.
For me, that day was June 27th, 2007
Plebe Summer
Like many before me, walking through the doors of Alumni Hall was one of the biggest leaps of my life.
I had a choice between pursuing a career in art or going to the Naval Academy. After receiving my appointment, the choice was simple. The Navy was now or never.
I crossed the threshold of Bancroft Hall. The door ceremonially shut behind me leaving behind my life as a civilian with a crowd of bewildered parents. After a battery of tests, haircuts, and uniforms out I came as plebe.
Without any military family or personal training, I had to do my research. And I did. But nothing can prepare you for the military indoctrination on the other side of those huge doors other than diving in.
To say I was winging it is an understatement. At the time I had to ask a friend the difference between a tomahawk and a torpedo (don't tell anyone, ok?).
The weeks that followed that first oath were some of the most memorable of my life thus far. That rigorous incubator amplified my growth...
But I guess that's what happens when you're pushed between struggle and fear like never before. I’m looking at you, 10-meter tower (of terror) jump. Still get chills thinking about that one!
1st Week of Plebe Summer.
And my look sums up how I felt about it!
Meant to Be
I’m left of center and in front of me the man who would be more than a classmate. Keep scrolling for that story.
Plebe Year
There is a breath of relief when the "Ac" year begins, but with the slight increase in freedom comes a new set of challenges. Between school…
Sports.
Chow calls.
Never-ending uniform inspections.
Formations.
And Army Week antics…
There’s not much downtime, and there’s more to do than time to do it.
Figuring out what’s necessary to learn, what’s necessary to memorize and where to find it, how to use teammates to succeed as a group, and failing, are all part of the plebe experience.
We Beat Army!
I only swam for a year … but I’m proud to be part of the 19th consecutive win (and counting…) against Army.
The Streak Breaks
This epic win gave us carry on for weeks!
The Dark Ages
The grueling time between breaks. It’s cold. It’s hard work. It’s a real thing.
Liberty! Wait. Liberty?
Plebes got "liberty" by "sneaking" (prior approved, of course) off the Yard to hang company banners the night before football games.
Good Times
Staying up until two was fun. But waking up at 5am for a 4-hour practice? Not so much.
Army Week Antics
The things you get away with on Army Week! This was in the OOW-free upper floors.
Shore Patrol Didn’t Care, but…
We almost lost our Christmas leave thanks to the reindeer antlers we donned after this photo.
Herndon
A 20-ft monument. Human pyramids. Vegetable shortening.
What’s not to love?!
As plebes our class must make the climb and replace a plebe dixie cup with a midshipman’s cover. The cannon blast signals we’re “plebes no more” once the task is completed (usually after a couple of hot, gross hours that are significantly less fun than you’d think).
Our class was the first to use a female midshipman's cover. It belonged to Kristen Dickmann, a beloved classmate who had passed away days prior.
Youngster Cruisin’
Being in the thick of plebe year means not having time to consider what comes after that pivotal cannon blast signaling its end.
There’s no transition. Immediately after the greasy climb we were shipped out to the Fleet for our first round of Summer Cruise— the Youngster Cruise. Youngsters in cramped quarters on a ship means lots of opportunities for trouble. And fun!
Obama’s Inauguration Parade
I’ve never been as cold as when I was waiting to march in 20-degree weather with plastic shoes.
"I'm not going to let you guys look like a bunch of dufusses wearing earmuffs." - O-Rep
(I'd rather look like the dufus)
Average Jane Midshipman
Against all my high school’s classmates’ expectations (including my own), I found my pace as an Average Jane midshipman.
In a sea of gifted and ambitious people at USNA I found my sweet spot by simply embracing midshipmen life: trying not to fall asleep in class, skipping intramurals to workout in 7th Wing Gym, going off the Yard for a run (and, of course, *never* stopping by that bakery to sneak bread back up to our rooms), and just going with the process.
I managed to find an art studio tucked away in a turret tower of Dahlgren Hall. While I’d chosen the Navy as a career path, my calling to make art was strong and I managed to pursue it in between work and study at the USNA.
I loved average. It meant getting to know my company during countless parades and football march ons and, best of all, taking naps! I made it a goal not to wear more than one stripe. Any more would mean carrying a sword. Which meant sword practice. Which interfered with my nap schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Total dealbreaker.
It turns out, you can find fun in Average Jane “midshipmanship.” It was an entirely different flavor of stressful than Plebe Year, but there were moments that made it worthwhile.
The next three years were an adventurous blur… but adventurous nonetheless!
30 Minutes in Heaven
Flight training during Protramid was totally worth the price of admission.
Women?! In Subs?!
In 2009, the salty chiefs said maybe by the end of our 20 year careers, we would see women on subs. The first women showed up a year later.
I’m lucky to call some of those pioneers friends.
Love Chit
Remember that man standing in front of me? He’s the one in this photo. His name’s Caleb.
The statute of limitations on forbidden relationships passed so (I think) I can publicly admit this…
Caleb and I had just started dating and would keep it secret for a few more months before making it official with the love chit. More on this if you keep scrolling.
Good Times
Youngster fun, CMOD, and hospital corners. A day in the life.
Ring Dance
Dressed in our finest Mess Dress.
Cool Toys, but…
Dirt and bugs aren’t for me. And neither were the Marines.
Ring Dance Outtakes
We got a little tired of taking pictures at Ring Dance.
Atop a Swedish Tallship
Responding to the right email at the right time meant finding myself a month later on the mast of a Swedish tallship. Cool opps thanks to the Navy.
Remember that Love Chit?
It led to a proposal!
We’re 100% That Couple…
You know… the ones who get engaged in college and have a June Week wedding? Yep. That’s us.
Naval Arch Labs
USNA has world renowned tow tank facilities, and as Naval Architecture students, we got to use them often!
Round Two
Navy wins at South Bend, again!
Tiny Major
Naval Architecture, class of 2011. So small that most of our classes were in the same room. If I’d known I would be stuck in the same awkward seat the whole 3 years I would’ve gotten there early to get a good one!
Service Selection
A few rockstars… I mean— women of the 24th company on Service Selection day.
Haircuts and eyebrow shaves (for the special ops guys).
Commissioning
A poor plebe is always on hand to remind you exactly how many days are left until graduation.
Most days it seems like it’ll never come… And when it finally did, it was surreal.
Going into the day, I didn’t occur to me that this insular community would never be the same. We’d endured so much together, and suddenly we were about to scatter… kind of like the covers we’d just tossed in the air.
Anonymous faces would suddenly feel like home when our paths would start to cross again… like that time, years later, I ran into an old classmate at a gym in Bahrain.
Kevin T, a dear classmate, said at our five year reunion, "What I'd give to just go back for one day, to walk in the halls and say hello to everyone."
And I agree. I'd give a lot to go back for a day.
I served in the Navy for over 6 years as a Surface Warfare Officer and Engineering Duty Officer.
Finally!
Receiving that US Naval Academy diploma
Ann of Annapolis
Sponsor families are the best. Ann drove us back at 2354 (plenty of time when Ann is behind the wheel) and let tons of mids crash on her floor and play in her kitchen.
Firstie Photos for Mom
Caleb and I outside Bancroft Hall
Sponsor Family
A few of the wonderful people who took Caleb and I in!! I wish I had a photo of the entire family.
Graduation time!
It finally came!
Mom, Dad, Ma, and Pa
Surrounded by our biggest support group. We love you!
The Rest of the Story
Two weeks after graduation I married the love and rock of my life in Jacksonville, Fl.
Long story short, still in the honeymoon phase, we reported to our first and second ships. Deployed four times, and eventually found our way back to Jacksonville, where I happened to grow up.
While there was little to no room for painting on a ship, I carved out time to paint in between deployments and duty days as a Surface Warfare Officer.
After transferring to Engineering Duty, I was planning to stay in for a career, attend MIT, throw in my hat for dive school, and continue painting in the “in between.” But, with the arrival of our daughter, Eleanor, we instantly knew that was not the path meant for us. On my first day back from maternity leave, I resigned from the Navy and started a new adventure.
The weekend we hung up the uniform, pregnant a second time, about to start a journey of transition, we flooded during Hurricane Irma. The waters took many of our possessions along with the sense of security and identity as military officers we had built over a decade. Looking back, the Navy prepared us for the challenge. Knowing how to respond to situations in seconds... Coping with uncertainty... Functioning under extreme pressure…those skills came in handy. It was an intense situation that lead to even more life changes. The slide back down from that heightened state of emotion and total lack of control was tough... But I found comfort and freedom in front of an easel.
When our son was born, I quit my civilian job and finally found where I needed to be.
(Jenn Hopkins Photography)
Surprise!
A surprise visit to the Churchill's starboard helo hangar a few months into a long year apart from one another.
Homecoming
The Conn ordered, "Left standard rudder, steady on course 184" and I was only a pier away from the most incredible welcome home.
Livin’ That Civilian Life
Thanks to clarity from our experience in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, I found myself pursuing a full-time career as an artist while being a mom of two babies shortly after separating from the Navy. It’s been quite the adventure.
Life in Jacksonville is sweet. Especially since Caleb loves baking! On occasion we’ll still sing Navy Blue and Gold before bed, crave Choco Tacos, and laugh about the outrageous bets we placed as plebes around the Navy-Army games.
I enjoy commemorating the stories and architecture of the US Naval Academy with gifts and paintings. The body of paintings I’m creating under Easel on Stribling are part of a grand collection I hope to build over the next years.
My work can be found:
at the Midshipmen Store and Visitors Center
U.S. Naval Academy Museum (A Midshipman’s Journey, a 20 piece series in their permanent collection)
National Veterans Memorial Museum (loaned from USNA in 2023)
U.S. Pentagon exhibit 2022-2023
On the wardroom walls of multiple Superintendents of USNA, and the walls of the mother of Sergeant Gonzales (the namesake of the USS Gonzalez) (2019), Naval Academy Women’s Soccer (“Joy of Beating Army”, 2020), and as a gift among the presentation of the Herndon Bell Monument (2022).
Private collections across the country
I want these paintings to inspire you to reflect on your own experience...
And to help family members feel closer to the experience they aren’t able to truly understand not having lived it themselves.
I want this work to inspire and help mentally prepare future midshipmen, like years ago the Plebe Summer photographs of Pete Souza did for me.
I also enjoy creating artwork outside of the naval theme on kristincronicart.com.
So whether you know the light and shadows of the USNA personally or second-hand, this online space is for you…
I invite you to wander around and I promise you’ll find something that tells your USNA story.
