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HILLSBOROUGH: HHS student talks academy with president

By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
   Anthony Jenkins, of Hillsborough, watched the president of the United States walk across the field and past him to settle in a spot about 15 rows above as he sat watching the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia on Dec. 6.
   ”I said, ‘I’m going to meet this guy,’” Anthony said.
   For Anthony, a Hillsborough High School senior who hopes to be accepted into the United States Naval Academy, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
   ”Anthony was taken by the experience,” said his mother, Toni Cantalupo.
   She said President George W. Bush sat on the Army side at the start of the game before switching to the Navy side during halftime, as is tradition.
   ”When President Bush switched sides, he was a few rows behind us,” she said.
   Once his decision was made, Anthony said, he began walking up the rows toward President Bush, who was being greeted by others also enjoying the game that day.
   ”Everybody was trying to shake his hand, and I was waiting for my opportunity,” Anthony said. “But the Secret Service came up and said I had to go back to my seat.”
   Instead of climbing down the 15 rows, Anthony said, he climbed higher until, decked out in his Navy gear, he was standing behind President Bush.
   ”I yelled out, ‘Mr. President,’ and he acknowledged me,” he said.
   Once President Bush had shaken his hand, Anthony was able to stay there for a while, talking with the president about his desire to attend the Naval Academy.
   According to Ms. Cantalupo, she and her son were offered the tickets to the game by the family of 1st Lt. Travis Manion, who was killed by sniper fire in Iraq in 2007. She said she and her son attended a ceremony awarding Mr. Manion the Silver Star and the Bronze Star Combat V.
   ”We are very close with the family and went to the awards ceremony,” Ms. Cantalupo said. “The parents had tickets to the game the next day, which they gave to us.”
   Anthony said he had planned to drive into Philadelphia the next day to try and see the game, but, with the four tickets from the Manion family, he was able to bring his mother and two brothers.
   ”It is a really energetic game,” he said. “The sports announcer said it is like the Super Bowl times two. These people will be in places like Iraq next year, defending the country. (The Army and Navy) is one of the greatest rivalries in the country.”
   Ms. Cantalupo said her son has dreamed of being a Naval aviator since he was young, and attended a summer seminar with the U.S. Naval Academy in June, where he was chosen as the squad battalion assistant commander.
   Anthony said he will know by April 15 if his application has been accepted. He said his application will be presented by an admissions officer to a special board, which will vote to determine if he can be accepted into the school.
   If he is not accepted, he said, he still could be accepted into a Naval Academy Preparatory School in Rhode Island where he will be instructed to correct any flaws that may have been found in his application, such as too low SAT scores. Then, he said, he could be accepted into the academy itself.
   ”I’ve wanted to be a fighter pilot my whole life,” Anthony said. “I believe they’re the best pilots.”