Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Barry Kyllo now helps students interested in attending Naval Academy



Barry Kyllo is providing a valuable service to Lester Prairie
and the surrounding communities.

He volunteers as a US Naval Academy information officer,
otherwise known as a blue and gold officer.

He talks to area junior and senior students and their families
about the opportunities the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. has to offer.

Kyllo grew up in Askov, Minn.. His grandmother encouraged
him to apply to the academy.

“It’s a very competitive process, and many kids are
vying for a small number of spots.” Kyllo said.

“‘Just apply. What can it hurt?’ Grandma asked me,”
he said.

Kyllo served eight years in the Navy, 12 if you include
his time at the academy.

His family lived in Roseville for four years, before moving
to Lester Prairie in 1994. He and his wife, Merri Lea, have two children
and are housing an exchange student. Merri Lea is originally from Lester
Prairie.

He works as a database administrator at Fingerhut in Plymouth.
He has been on the school board for six years. He also taught the ROTC program
at the University of Minnesota for two years.

Kyllo knows first hand what the academy is all about. He
is a 1982 graduate with a bachelor of science degree in economics. He knows
what the application process entails and how challenging and rewarding the
four-year program is, he said.

Kyllo’s job as a blue and gold officer is to meet and discuss
with the student why he or she is interested in the academy. He is not a
recruiter.

“I try to get a feel for the student’s reasoning.
I want to know if he or she really wants to go, of if it’s his or her parents,”
he said.

So far, he hasn’t had that response, he said.

He also talks to the parents to answer any questions they
might have.

Kyllo has been a blue and gold officer for two years, which
is unpaid and done on his own time. He is unable to be a reservist because
of a bad knee, but he wanted to give back to the Navy and the community,
he said.

It’s a great way to help both groups, Kyllo said.

Kyllo went to local schools to let guidance counselors
know he was available to students if they were interested in a military
education. The students have to take the initiative.

“I would go to the high schools to talk to students
if they asked me,” Kyllo said.

Students are encouraged to begin the application process
as a junior. A student’s curriculum should reflect the highest level of
math and science possible at his or her school.

If there is a college preparatory class or a post secondary
class offered, the student should be taking it, Kyllo said.

Students need to show leadership and initiative in their
educational choices to the academy, Kyllo said.

Most accepted students are athletes, at the top of their
class, and are in some kind of school activity that reflects leadership,
he said.

The preparation in high school helps students get ready
for training and education at the academy. The academy prepares midshipmen
(students) morally, mentally, and physically to be professional officers
in the naval service, Kyllo said.

To start the process, students must go to the academy’s
web site at www.usna.edu to fill out a questionnaire. Then the questionnaire
is routed to the area’s respective blue and gold officer.

Kyllo, being the officer for Lester Prairie, Winsted Holy
Trinity, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, Glencoe-Silver Lake, Hutchinson,
and Watertown-Mayer, would be contacted if any students from those schools
applied. He meets parents and student at his house, usually, and interviews
the student.

Kyllo’s recommendation is a factor in whether or not the
student is selected as a candidate.

“If I feel that this student would not be a good candidate,
or that the academy would not be the right institute for him or her, I put
that in my report,” Kyllo said.

The academy wants to see all its students succeed. They
don’t want a midshipman who doesn’t want to be there, he said.

Candidates must also obtain a nomination from their congressman
or senator. Each representative has five spots per academy to fill. There
are academies for the Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard. The Coast Guard
Academy does not require nominations.

“The nominations are a way to make sure that there
is a geographic spread of students,” Kyllo said.

All Naval nominations are sent to the academy for final
selection. The academy annually receives 10,000 to 12,000 applications for
1,200 positions, Kyllo said.

The academy offers 18 majors, small class sizes, NCAA
Division I varsity sports for men and women, full federal funding, a monthly
stipend, complete medical and dental coverage, and an education worth about
a quarter of a million dollars, for free, Kyllo said.

Upon graduation, midshipmen become officers in the US Navy
or Marine Corps.

“If kids want a challenge, need the financing, and
have those capabilities and desires, the academies are a great place to
go,” Kyllo said.

For more information on applying to the Naval Academy,
call Kyllo at (320)395-2779, or talk to a high school guidance counselor.

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