ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- For Midshipmen, often some of the best preparation for being commissioned as an officer come hundreds or even thousands of miles outside of Annapolis. And that was just the case for several student-athletes on the Navy women's lacrosse team this past summer. Below these soon-to-be officers discuss some of the unique, real-word experiences afforded to them during the summer of '09 and how it has helped prepare them for their future roles past graduation.

Lexi Dauernheim | Junior| Midfield | Monterey, Calif.
Major: Applied Mathematics

On how she spent the summer of '09:

I spent two and a half weeks in Venezuela on a missions trip with the Campus Crusade for Christ here at the Academy. We worked with college students in Maracaibo, Venezuela and shared our faith with them.

I also lived in Spain for four weeks. Three weeks were spent attending a civilian school and living with a host family who only spoke Spanish. Every weekend we traveled to another city in Spain and during the last week we stayed at the Spanish Naval Academy. While there, I attended their graduation, met the King and Queen of Spain along with several foreign ambassadors and naval officers from Spain, Portugal, England, Japan and France.

During my last block of leave I took part in PROTRAMID (Professional Training for Midshipmen), and spent one week experiencing life as a marine, one week on a surface ship, one week of submarines, and another as a pilot. There were a number of highlights which included getting to fly in a T-34 (the F-18 trainer), numerous helicopter rides, staying overnight on a submarine and spending the night in a mock town used for marine training.

On what she took away from her summer experiences:

It was an amazing summer. My Spanish speaking skills improved by an incredible amount as I gained the confidence to conjugate verbs on-the-fly and to learn to recognize repeated phrases and sayings. I wanted to learn how to speak to others about what I believed in. Being immersed in another culture and being taken out of my comfort zone was exactly what I had wanted.

I learned to be grateful for how things are in our country. I really felt what it was like to not have any guarantee of security. This was something I had never experienced, and when I returned home, I felt as if a weight had been lifted off of me.

These trips really have inspired me to want to travel and contribute outside the country when I graduate. The experience of engaging with other people in another language has given me the confidence to get to know people I don't know yet here. It also has given me perspective on how much there is out there that I don't know or understand yet.

It showed me that I am the one who will carve my future career, if I want to do something, I just need to pursue it with my whole heart and I will be successful.

Mary Ruttum | Senior | Attack | Annapolis, Md.
Major: Systems Engineering

On how she spent the summer of '09:

I worked plebe summer detail here in Annapolis and also went on an aviation cruise down in Jacksonville, Fla. As a squad leader working plebe summer, I was directly in charge of 11 incoming Midshipmen.

On what she took away from her summer experiences:

Working plebe summer was definitely a worthwhile experience. It really showed me how things come full circle and helped me understand why this place is set up exactly the way it is. Although it was on a small scale, it has helped me develop as a leader. The experience taught me a lot about myself and has been helpful to draw upon in my current role as Seventh Company Commander.

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2009-09-30