WEST POINT (NY)-Clay County student Timothy (TJ) Cody of Moss recently received a prestigious appointment to the United States Military Academy here.

Cody, the oldest of five children of Tim and Jo Anne Cody, will be a part of the West Point Class of 2013. Cody, a home-schooled senior registered with Daniel 1 Academy of Cookeville, received his appointment from Sixth District U.S. Representative Bart Gordon of Tennessee, and was also selected as the alternate appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.   

Cody said it has been a lifelong goal of his to serve as an officer in the U.S. military, and credited several people for their encouragement and help through the years. 

“So many people have given me so much encouragement, devoted so much of their time, and have encouraged me and other young people to achieve all we can,” Cody said. “I am indebted to them, and want to thank them for all they have done.”

Cody specifically mentioned: Jack Holman, Daniel 1 Academy President and basketball coach; Ike and Sally Bonecutter, mentors and piano instructor; Ray and Sandy Norris, mentors; Judith Cutright, Clay County Library;  Greg Watson, pastor of Christ Bible Baptist Church; Christina Carr, Clay County 4-H; Bob and Kate Bowslaugh, mentors; Mickie and Linas Repecka, Dale Hollow Outdoors; Josh Watson, Tae Kwon Do instructor; and Travis Davis, Dale Hollow Outdoors.

In addition to his homeschool studies, he attends dual enrollment classes at Tennessee Tech, and is scheduled to graduate in May. He will report for cadet basic training in June. 

Cody played center for the Daniel 1 Lions basketball team the last two years, was active in the Clay County 4H, and has been an active volunteer at the Clay County Library.  He participated in a number of Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion programs, including the VFW’s Voice of Democracy and the American Legion’s Boys State and Boys Nation programs, all of which were instrumental in his personal development, he said.  

About the academy

“Renowned as the world’s premier leader development institution, West Point accomplishes its mission by developing cadets intellectually, physically, militarily, ethically, spiritually, and socially,” the academy website says. “The student body, or Corps of Cadets, numbers 4,400 and each year approximately 1000 cadets join the Long Gray Line as they graduate and are commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.”

The academy has received a host of recent acknowledgments of its program, including  Forbes.com pronouncing West Point as the Best Public College or University in America for undergraduate education, U.S. News and World Report calling it the Best Public Liberal Arts College in the country, and the Princeton Review designating the Academy as one of the 100 Best Value Colleges for 2009, according to the website. 

The academic program consists of 31 core courses, and all cadets receive a Bachelor of Science degree, “fully prepared meet the intellectual requirements of a leader in today’s Army,” the website says. The physical program at West Point includes both physical education classes and competitive athletics. Every cadet participates in an intercollegiate, club or intramural level sport each semester.

The military program begins on the cadet’s first day at West Point, with most military training taking place during the summer. Cadets spend their third and fourth summers serving in active Army units around the world; attending advanced training courses such as airborne, air assault or northern warfare; or training the first and second year cadets as members of the leadership cadre, the website says. 

West Point is located approximately 50 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River. The campus and central post area are part of a reservation totaling nearly 16,000 acres.