Luke Eckstein and Bash Brown, both seniors at St. Aloysius High School, have received appointments to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Individuals wishing to attend a service academy undergo a two-step process in which they must first obtain a nomination and then compete for appointment.

Those who attend a service academy receive an undergraduate education comparable to top-tier Ivy League schools, and graduates have the choice of pursue degrees or spend a minimum of five years as a military officer.

Both Eckstein and Brown have family ties to the Academy.

Eckstein said both of his parents went to school at West Point, and they’re excited to see him go there.

“They’ve always made it clear I could go where I wanted to go,” he said. “West Point and the Army have been their life, so they’ve got a lot of stories from West Point, and they’re very knowledgeable about that.”

Eckstein said he has wanted to go to West Point since he was in seventh grade.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to serve my nation,” he said. “My parents told me what it was like, and it sounded like a place I would really enjoy being.”

Last summer Eckstein took part in Summer Leadership Experience at West Point, and in November he was able to shadow a cadet to see what a day in the life at West Point was like.

“I had heard all of this stuff from my parents, but when I finally went there everything they said came true,” he said. “It was the type of people I wanted to be around, the type of place I would fit in, and a place where I could achieve my goals.”

Brown said his grandfather was an assistant football coach at West Point in the ’60s.

“I want to serve, and I had heard stories about this place from my grandfather that piqued my interest,” he said. “I started looking into it more. When I was a freshman I decided that it was my goal, but I didn’t just decide that I was going to go to West Point or I’m going to go to Air Force or Navy.”

Brown is still waiting to hear back from the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colo. and the Coast Guard Academy at New London, Conn.

Brown said he has not yet decided which academy he will attend, but he did attend a summer seminar at the Air Force Academy, and he has a trip planned to visit West Point.

St. Aloysius Principal Jules Michel said the two young men are a product of a school that seeks to emphasize academics, spirituality and extracurricular activities.

“You’ve got two unbelievably spiritual young men,” he said. “They’re very involved in their respective religions and service work to the school and community here, and they’re extremely athletic.”