Photo/ACPSD Communications Department
A senior at the U.S. Naval Academy, Daniel Zaremba has traveled the world, but Thanksgiving week, he was back home in Aiken talking with NJROTC students at high schools about his life as a midshipman and his plans for the future.
A 2014 graduate of South Aiken High, Zaremba earned four letters in soccer, scoring 81 goals during his career. The Naval Academy gave him an opportunity to continue playing at the NCAA Division I level while serving his country.
“I always wanted to play soccer in college, and I though about joining the military service around 10th grade,” Zaremba said after talking to freshman and sophomore students in Lt. Timothy Marinelli's class at Aiken High. “I got recruited to play soccer at the Naval Academy, so it's worked out to be the best of both worlds. I was able to serve and fulfill my dream of playing college soccer. I've loved every bit of it. It's been a great experience.”
Zaremba, an economics major and a son of Jim and Angie Zaremba, told the students that the Naval Academy builds leaders.
“It's the most intangible thing I've experienced over the course of three and a half years,” he said. “You can get academics anywhere, but it's that leadership experience that will separate you from others down the road.”
Zaremba also told the students the Naval Academy builds character.
“The three tenets of the Naval Academy are honor, courage and commitment,” he said. “It's being dedicated to the cause, being service oriented. That's the type of person the Naval Academy is looking for.”
Although he's still a student, the Navy has taken Zaremba all over the world: Hawaii, Guam, Australia, New York City and the American Northeast. Last summer, he did an internship at a high school in Newark, New Jersey, taking students on a five-day, 55-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail.
“That's just one of the leadership opportunities I've had,' he said. “The Navy has given me a lot, and I'm looking forward to giving back to them over the years.”
After graduation in May, Zaremba will attend nuclear power school in Charleston for about a year and a half and then serve in the U.S. Navy aboard submarines for about five years. He was aboard a submarine for nine days last summer, and the people and the mission drew him to the community.
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