With senior Brooke Bailey’s bright and impressive charm, plus her passion to help others, it’s no surprise that Midlothian High School recently named her the senior Student of the Year. Ranked 8th out of 362 for the graduating class of 2018, Bailey has reached above and beyond to help her community and achieve her goals of pursuing a military path.

With a whopping seven honor societies, countless hours of community service, and many leadership roles under her belt, clearly, Brooke Bailey is a force to be reckoned with. After making the Midlothian Varsity Volleyball team as a freshman,  Bailey continued to work hard and eventually served as team captain during her senior year. She honed her leadership skill as a HOBY Representative, and active member of FBLA, an officer of LEAD Up!, and Leadership Council Member of Trojan Nations. Despite all of her extra-curricular activities and volunteer work, Bailey has still managed to maintain honor roll all four years of high school and has received recognition from her teacher each year of her high school career for her representation of Midlothian’s Core Values (9th: Respect; 10th: Responsibility; 11th: Accountability; 12th: Honesty). These accolades barely scratch the surface. Bailey’s most impressive achievements extend beyond Midlothian High School and reach as far as Congress.

Brooke Bailey comes from a military family. Her father is a captain in the Navy, and both of her brothers have followed the military path as well. Her brother Benjamin attends the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and Bradley attends The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina. Watching her family’s involvement in the military piqued her interest, said Bailey. “Freshman year, I watched my brother apply to Merchant Academy and was really interested through that,” she added. “My dad also started to push freshman year for me to enter the Navy, since my brothers weren’t.”

Determined to enter the U.S. Naval Academy, an extremely competitive school with a daunting acceptance rate of 9%, Bailey worked tirelessly to secure her future. She participated in the U.S. Naval Academy STEM Program, a summer program that highlighted different fields of engineering in the military. She also volunteered at places, such as: the Navy Safe Harbor Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides support to seriously wounded, ill, or injured U.S. Sailors and U.S. Coast Guardsmen and their families; the Armed Forces Retirement Home, helping with ice cream socials and visiting veterans and their families; the Special Olympics, working as a Volleyball Instructor at the Richmond Volleyball Club; Marine Three-Deuce-Five Foundation, assisting U.S. Marine Corps members and their families, including support to a catastrophically combat-wounded Marine; Fisher House Foundation, delivering meals to families of wounded warriors; Wreaths Across America, serving as a U.S. Merchant Marine Ceremonial Representative, to name a few.

Her strong work ethic has garnered significant recognition. In 11th grade, she received the West Point Leadership Award, which exemplifies “outstanding high school juniors who have demonstrated exceptional performance in academics, athletics, community service, leadership, and moral character.” Additionally, with the recommendation of AP U.S. Government teacher Mrs. Regina Warriner, Bailey received the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizens Scholarship. According to the Daughters of the American Revolution, the award “recognizes and rewards individuals who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities.”

Not only has she managed some extremely impressive accomplishments, but she also accomplished a nearly impossible feat: offers from all of the United States Military Academies to which she applied: United States Coast Guard Academy, United States Air Force Academy, United States Merchant Marine Academy, and the United States Naval Academy. She also received an acceptance letter from Virginia Tech’s Engineering Program She has decided to attend the United States Naval Academy in the fall because she is from a Navy family, and it fits her interests best. “I want to do either submarine or aviation,” she explained, “and if I want to pursue submarine, I know I won’t have the option anywhere else.”

What is it like to be in a military family? How has it affected you as a person?

My father showed us how to be leaders and showed me how to make sacrifices, mainly through moving. If my dad told us to move to Colorado tomorrow, I would because I know he’s serving our nation. I was actually born in Ohio, and I moved to Maryland for a year before coming here in 6th grade. My mom has shown grace, empathy, and understanding.

What do you plan to do in the Navy?

Submarine or aviation. I’ll probably study engineering. My dream job is to be a politician, maybe a senator.

What are your hobbies? What do you like to do outside of school?

I like puppies and shopping.

What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?

I think it’s my ability to be kind, even when people aren’t nice to me.

How do you feel about being such an accomplished person (i.e. How do you manage to be so humble)?

It really goes back to faith. Being a Christian has taught me to give praise to God.

What inspires you to be such a hardworking person?

In high school, my goal was to make it to the Naval Academy, but my biggest inspirations are my parents. They’re my biggest cheerleaders, and I take a lot from what they do.