“It’s All About Opportunities”: Making The Most Of The West Point Experience

Daine Van de Wall grew up in a family who immigrated to the U.S. just before his birth. He attended high school in Maryland, and then spent one year at the University of Florida before to coming to West Point in 2016. Daine took advantage of a wide array of opportunities at West Point, including various military schools, the Service Academy Exchange Program (spending a semester in Annapolis), and the West Point Scholarship Program. He served as the First Captain for the Class of 2020, and branched Infantry. He received a Rhodes Scholarship, and will be continuing his studies at Magdalen College in the University of Oxford. In this interview, Daine talks about several topics for which he has great passion, including the goal of eradicating sexual assault and sexual harassment from the Corps of Cadets. He also reflects on his time as the First Captain, including the turbulence at the end of the year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Daine concludes with some thoughts about what West Point means to him, one week prior to graduation.