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Margaux Jarka (right) stands with her future volleyball coach, Alma Kovaci, in the dining hall at West Point.

    New Prairie High School senior Margaux Jarka has declared her commitment to play volleyball for West Point Military Academy.

   Margaux, daughter of Kelly and Tom Jarka of Rolling Prairie, was recruited by the Army, has met all requirements to attend West Point, and received her appointment from Congressman Joe Donnelly in December.

New Prairie senior Margaux Jarka in action in a recent volleyball game

New Prairie senior Margaux Jarka in action in a recent volleyball game.

   “I am extremely excited for a number of reasons,” Margaux told WNLP. “I am ready for the next step in my life and am thrilled that I can play volleyball at the next level while serving my country at the same time. West Point is an exceptional place with exceptional people. The cadets are driven and motivated (they must take the 22 required credit hours per semester in addition to playing sports), like myself, and I am looking to the relationships I will make with these people.”

   Margaux said West Point is also an exciting destination because of its rich heritage. “I have always been a history buff,” she said. “Learning in school about President Eisenhower, General Lee, General Grant, Stonewall Jackson, and General Norman Schwarzkopf and knowing that I will attend the same university that they did is awesome! The history of West Point is amazing and you know it is a unique and important place when you visit.”

   She also looks forward to continuing her volleyball career. “I have played since fourth grade for Dunes Volleyball Club, which totally prepared me for this level of play,” she said.

Margaux and her dad, Tom, at an Army football game in 2009.

Margaux and her dad, Tom, at an Army football game in 2009.

   Margaux will begin basic training in June. “While I am extremely excited, I am also somewhat nervous, too! I realize that this is a very different college experience. I will have to wear uniforms each day and have very few privileges my “plebe” (freshman) year. It will be hard to be so far from home and I know that I will be homesick, but so will all of the cadets. We will get through it together. 

   “In the end, I know that this opportunity will open endless doors for my future and that it will all be worth it.”