A graduate of America’s West Point military academy has become a celebrated viral sensation after he was photographed crying with emotion during his graduation parade.
Second Lieutenant Alix Schoelcher Idrache, who was born in Haiti, graduated from the academy as the top-ranking physics student and aims to become a pilot.
“At this moment, I was overwhelmed with emotions. Three things came to mind and led to those tears,” 2nd Lt Idrache explained in a comment on Instagram. “The first is where I started … The second is where I am … The third is my future.
2nd Lt Idrache went from speaking basic English in a poor area of the Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince to graduating from the country’s most prestigious military academy in seven years.
In an army press release, 2nd Lt Idrache is said to have begun working towards becoming a pilot after witnessing the US military conducting humanitarian missions in Haiti.
The press release quotes 2nd Lt Idrache as saying: “People where I’m from don’t grow up to be pilots right? Like they don’t dream of flying a helicopter, that’s not something you do.”
He added: “You don’t just say I’m going to be a pilot and make it happen. There’re no aviation, there’re no helicopters, no flight schools. There’re none of that.”
Following his graduation he will enter the Amy Aviation Centre for Excellence in Fort Rucker, Alabama.
2nd Lt Idrache came to the US in 2009 after his father had migrated in search of better prospects for his family.
After joining his father, he enrolled in the Maryland National Guard before leaving to attend Westpoint.about:blank
In doing so 2nd Lt Idriche became the Maryland Army National Guard’s first West Point graduate.
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He credited his father with giving him a strong work ethic. He said: “My dad always said, ‘education is the only gift I can always give you, because I don’t have any anything material to give.’”
He added: “I ask myself what is one thing I could never be if I didn’t come to West Point – and that’s a pilot.”