Cadet Tate Blessinger, the son of Mike and Nancy Blessinger of Jasper, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York on Saturday, May 22nd.
Blessinger graduated from Jasper High School in 2016 and spent a year at DePauw University prior to attending the United States Military Academy.
While at West Point, Blessinger concentrated his studies in Organizational Psychology and Leadership earning his degree with honors and graduating Magna Cum Laude.
He earned membership in the Association of College Honor Societies of Psi Chi, a national honor society for Psychology majors as well as membership in Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society.
He earned varsity letters each of his four years at West Point as a member of the Army Sprint Football team which won two Collegiate Sprint Football league titles during his tenure.
The Sprint Collegiate Football League is an NCAA sanctioned, full-contact football team with a player weight limit of 178 pounds and has roots dating to the early part of the 20th century. Blessinger was a two-time team leader in tackles as a linebacker and two-time member of the First Team Defensive all league team. As a member of the Sprint Football team he also earned membership in the 2021 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, an elite group of 910 senior football players from all divisions of play who have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher for their college careers and contributed significantly in their respective teams.
Blessinger was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army within the Infantry branch and will report to Fort Benning, GA later this summer for his first assignment of infantry officer training and potentially Army Ranger school.
Following his training period, he will post as an infantry officer at Ft. Campbell, KY. He is engaged to Allison (Allie) Wood, daughter of Kiley and Shannon Wood of Jasper, who he plans to marry on June 26, 2021.
The mission of the U.S. Military Academy is to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so each graduate is commissioned as a leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army.
The U. S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal, liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America’s first college of engineering and continues today as the world’s premier leader-development institution, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country. Its mission remains constant–to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the U.S. Army. For more information, go to www.westpoint.edu.
