When Kandy Webber reports to United States Military Academy at West Point on June 29, she will be following in the footsteps of her father and a host of other relatives.

“I’m the fourth generation in my family to go to West Point, but the first female,” says Kandy, the daughter of Ken and Cindy Webber of Watkinsville, and a recent graduate of Oconee County High School.

Kandy, 18, may be following in a family tradition, but she says her decision to attend the Army’s military academy was made with no pressure from family members.

“If anything, my father and my family made sure this is what I really want,” she says. 

Not that her father isn’t proud of her, Kandy says. It would be hard not to proud of having a daughter attend your alma mater, especially when your school produced such military giants as Grant, Lee, Patton and Pershing.

But, Kandy says, her father is equally proud of her younger sister, who is in the ROTC program at North Georgia College in Dahlonega.

“My sister will be commissioned at the end of next year when she graduates,” Kandy says. “My father is super proud of her, the same way he is super proud of me.”

Kandy says her father never tried to talk her into going to West Point, but that didn’t mean he didn’t tell a few tales from his alma mater over the years. Kandy especially loved it when her dad would recount pranks he and other cadets pulled on each other.

“I used to think that was so cool,” she recalls, adding that her father was quick to point out that “West Point wasn’t fun all of the time.”

By the time she was in middle school, Kandy had decided she wanted to check out West Point for herself. When she was in seventh grade, she took what she calls a “practice run” up to the Academy. 

She immediately liked what she saw.

“I looked around and they were barking orders, and I knew, even in seventh grade, that I wanted to go there,” she says.

Of course wanting to go to West Point and getting into the Academy are two entirely different things. To join the “Long Gray Line,” as it is often called, a candidate must have high grades, athletic prowess, leadership potential, exemplary character and a nomination from a member of Congress.

Kandy met all the criteria, and will attend the academy for four years, then serve in the Army for a minimum of five years active duty and three years Reserve. At this point, Kandy is leaning towards a career in military intelligence, but said that is subject to change.

“This is not like a regular college in that there is no ‘seven-year plan,’” she says, “but they do allow you to figure out exactly what you want to do.”

Kandy believes she is up to the tough physical standards of both West Point and the Army. She played rugby in high school, which kept her in pretty good shape, even if the sport concerned her a little her senior year.

“I worried a lot that I would get injured and not be able to start West Point,” she admits.

She also is proficient in Aikido, a form of Japanese self-defense, but admits that is causing a few anxious moments, too.

“I test for my black belt nine days before I leave for West Point, so on top of all my nervousness about leaving, I am also nervous about the black belt,” she says, laughing.

Just to be sure, even with the rugby exercise and the Aikido training, Kandy is adding even more exercise to her daily routine.

“I am a little nervous about the physical requirements, because that is something you can’t just breeze through,” she says.  “But, like everything else, I will learn to deal with the nervousness.”

Kandy will also have to deal with a college experience that is unlike most other freshmen’s first year away from home. Instead of arriving at the dorm with a trailer full of stuff, West Point cadets report to the first day on campus with basically nothing but the clothes on their backs.

She also won’t get to come home whenever she chooses. Kandy’s first break and opportunity to travel back to Watkinsville will be at Thanksgiving.

As honest as she is modest, Kandy admits it will be hard to be away from home for such long stretches. She will miss family, friends, and a few other important things, too.

“I will really miss Chicken Express and Barberitos,” she says, laughing at the thought of life without two of her favorite Oconee restaurants.

Mary Anne Carroll is a reporter for The Oconee Leader. She can be reached at 706-310-1104 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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