While attending Alameda’s Encinal Junior & Senior High School in the late 2010s, Max Onaga stood out — in a good way. Earning a 4.0 GPA while taking Advanced Placement courses will do that.
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Onaga also distinguished himself by thinking for himself. This independent streak came to the forefront when it came time to choose a college. Naturally, Onaga picked one of the hardest schools to get into, the U.S. Army’s vaunted West Point military academy in upstate New York, where the acceptance rate is only 12%.
Onaga, who recently graduated from the academy but did not grow up in a military family and will begin his five-year Army commitment soon, recalls that his decision to apply to West Point was about more than just attending a college.
“I had a different mindset than other kids my age,” says Onaga, who is now on leave at his parents’ Oakland home. “College wasn’t really all I wanted. I wanted to do something different.”
Two things that helped influence the young Encinal Jet’s desire to attend the prestigious and highly selective academy were job security upon graduation and not having to pay for his education — tuition at West Point is free, but each graduate must commit to a five-year stint as an Army officer afterward.
Onaga chalks up his decision to set his sites on West Point — a process that included a letter of recommendation from the office of late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-San Francisco — to “looking at long-term versus short-term goals.” He said he knew he wanted to come out of school with a secure job — box checked. Onaga said he also didn’t want to end up like some of his peers who may graduate from college and then ask, “what now?”
Studying chemical engineering, Onaga earned a 4.05 GPA, graduating in the 98th percentile academically and ranking 191 out of 1,076 graduates in his West Point class. To fulfill his five-year Army obligation, Onaga, who is now a second lieutenant, will head to Camp Humphreys in Osan, South Korea, after completing the Basic Officer Leader Course at Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood next month. While in South Korea, Onaga will be assigned to combat training and construction engineering duties.
“It has very little to do with chemical engineering,” says the 22-year-old who intends to use those skills after his military career is over.
Despite his success at West Point, Onaga is the first to admit that getting to finish line there wasn’t a breeze. A key point in the process at the school comes upon entering the junior year.
“You’re either all in or you’re not,” said Onaga in reference to the “affirmation” process where West Pointers must decide if they want to graduate from the school and commit to the five-year stint in the Army afterward. Those who graduate but don’t want to do the five year hitch owe the Army their tuition costs.
“It’s the point of no return,” he said.
Not sure if wanted to make this commitment, Onaga says part of his hesitance was due to the fact that he’s very independent.
“It was difficult at West Point to always be the guy who’s different,” says Onaga.
To help him make the decision, Onaga reached out to mentors including his former Encinal High math teacher, Jeffrey Smith, himself a retired 20-year Navy pilot. As his teacher, Smith remembers that he didn’t have to repeat lessons with Onaga in class like he did with other students.
Smith says Onaga understood lesson points the first time around and would often ask Smith why he kept repeating himself. He recalls how Onaga would sit straight up in his chair in the front row and sleep to stave off the boredom of hearing the same points over and over. Amused, Smith reminded Onaga that he had better not get caught sleeping in class when he got to West Point.
“You’ll be out marching with a M1 rifle on your shoulder,” Smith says he told the future “plebe” (as in “plebeian”), as West Point freshmen are called.
Smith, who wrote Onaga a letter of recommendation to West Point, helped convince Onaga to complete his studies in part by reminding him that if you tell someone you graduated from the academy “you don’t have to explain yourself.” Still, he knew how tough West Point could be. “They don’t treat you like a VIP.”
In the end Onaga decided to stay the course.
“I had to find a sense of honor. I’m doing this for something bigger than me. It won out in the end.”
Smith is glad Onaga decided to stick with it and has a tip for anyone who might bump into the West Pointer around town: “If you see a young Army officer wearing bright new gold bars on his collar you might render him a salute and a congratulatory handshake.”
Paul Kilduff is a San Francisco-based writer who also draws cartoons. He can be reached at pkilduff350@gmail.com.