MANILA, Arkansas — An Arkansas student is accomplishing his dreams and was accepted into a prestigious military academy, but not without a ton of hard work.
Joshua Evers transformed his life in order to serve our country.
From a young age, the Manila High School senior was determined to serve in the military. Once his grandmother introduced him to the idea of West Point Academy, he was hooked.
“I started researching it and after maybe a couple months of looking at it non-stop, I said okay, this is perfect for me, this is what I need to do,” Joshua said.
A football player at Manila High, Joshua was a normal, active teenager, but after studying the fitness requirements, he came to a tough realization.
“I started really being realistic with myself like okay, I can’t do any of this stuff. I’ve gotta change something.”
Determined to make it to West Point, joshua revamped his exercise and diet regimen.
“You never really realize you’re eating terribly until you start eating correctly,” he said.
Over the last year, Joshua has lost more than 60 pounds, while maintaining good grades.
It was earlier this month that his dream came true — he received an acceptance letter from West Point.
“I just couldn’t believe it. It was one of those things that was so surprising, it doesn’t set in until afterwards,” he said. “I’m just so excited.”
Joshua hopes to study engineering at West Point.