Grand Junction, Colo., native excels at U.S. Coast Guard Academy

U.S. Coast Guard Academy First Class Cadet Christa Funk poses for a photograph Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. Funk is on the Fall 2011 Board of Trustees list, the most prestigious honors list at the academy. U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 3rd Class Diana Honings.

Life at a military academy is not easy. It isn’t supposed to be. The arduous training takes promising young people and develops them into effective military officers. People like U.S. Coast Guard Academy First Class Christa Funk of Grand Junction, Colo.

Funk was placed on the Board of Trustees Honors List for the 2011 fall semester, the most prestigious honors list at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

To be included on the Board of Trustees Honors List, cadets must earn three uniform stars for excellence in military, academic and athletic performance during the semester. This means a cadet must simultaneously attain a term grade point average above 3.15, be in the top 25 percent of their class in military performance and obtain a score of 270 or higher on the Physical Fitness Examination. Those who make the list are among the top 2 percent in the rankings of the more than 1,000 cadets that make up the corps.

Funk is a member of the Varsity Swimming team and has been on the Board of Trustees List since Spring 2010.

“I made it by always being respectful, knowing that there’s a great support system here and staying active,” said Funk. “Also, my parents and sisters have always motivated me, and I am incredibly grateful for their support.”

Funk is a 2008 graduate of Grand Junction High School and is scheduled to graduate in May 2011 from the academy with a degree in Marine and Environmental Science.

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy, one of the nation’s five federal service academies, is located on the west bank of the Thames River. Each year, the academy graduates nearly 200 newly commissioned ensigns to lead the smallest of all the military services.

U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review and Forbes Magazine have recognized the U.S. Coast Guard Academy as one of the top institutions of higher learning. U.S. News & World Report magazine ranks the academy among the top 20 Undergraduate Engineering Programs in the nation.

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