By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 4, 2024 | It’s good to see young people achieve their goals.
Mamie Pridgen, 19, a recent graduate of Wesleyan School, had a goal. She wanted to become a U.S. Navy officer, and set a path for achieving that goal. She was hoping to get admitted to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., but if that did not work, she also applied for admission at several colleges which had Naval ROTC programs. She applied to several other schools, and won admission from two of these schools.
But she went farther, and got nominations to the Academy from both Georgia senators, Rafael Warnock and John Ossoff, and also from Rep. Lucy McBath. She learned of her acceptance to the Academy by email on January 29.
So at the end of June, she’ll be heading to Annapolis to start the Academy’s summer of plebe (first year) training. “I know we’ll be working hard and will spend time on the water, and also know that I won’t be home at all until Thanksgiving. We’ll start the academic year at the Naval Academy in late August. For freshmen, you don’t get much time away from the academy. They call that liberty, and freshmen have only Saturday afternoons for liberty. But when you are a senior, you have much more liberty.”
Pridgen
She’s the daughter of Amy and Franklin Pridgen of Peachtree Corners, and was born at Piedmont Hospital. Her father is the football coach at Wesleyan and her mother is a pediatric physical therapist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Mamie has been surprised at the reception her nomination got her. “Once I was committed to the Naval Academy, people rallied around me. Contacts there and graduates reached out to me. I was also impressed as the Wesleyan and Peachtree Corners communities set me up for success.”
Why a military academy? Mamie says: “My brother was in the ROTC program at Furman University, and is now a platoon leader in the Signal Corps in Germany. That opened up the idea for me of military service. Once I looked into that possibility at the Academy, I realized it would not be easy, but through hard work, and surrounded by others helping me, I was lucky to get the nomination.”
Naval midshipmen have a rigid course of instruction the first year, all studying the same basic courses of math, science and English. At the end of the year, she’ll determine her course major.
She recognizes the summer training won’t be easy, but she has been preparing for it. “It’ll be physically tough, but I’ve been training for plebe summer, having a cardio plan, running a lot and doing my sit-ups and push-ups. I want to be in good shape to prepare myself to be equipped to succeed in the next few months.”
She says of her future in the service: “Naval aviation interests me. I have a couple of other interests. We’ll see what develops.”
The Naval Academy will be getting a well-rounded freshman in Mamie Pridgen. She had top grades at Wesleyan, scoring a grade of 30 on the ACT test. (Top-tier colleges often look for ACT scores in the 27-32 range.) Mamie was president of the senior class, on the Honor Council, was editor-in-chief of the Wesleyan Literary magazine, and was on both the volleyball and lacrosse teams. “You have to play a sport at the Academy, either intramural or varsity. I might find another field, maybe pickleball.”
Mamie Pridgen set a high goal, and achieved it, and now looks to become an Academy-trained Naval officer!
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