Southampton High School graduate Paul Spalding, currently a senior at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, is an impressive young man.

While he was on leave for the Thanksgiving break, he returned home and spoke to local students, including a group at Lakeland High School, about the opportunities presented by enrolling in the Naval Academy. An appointment to one of our nation’s fine military academies does not come easily, but Spalding has set a fine example for our local students if they hope to follow in his footsteps.

During an interview for an article in a recent edition of the Suffolk News-Herald, Spalding said, “The Western Tidewater Area has a lot of potential,” while referring to the quality of students produced by our local schools. We couldn’t agree more, and Paul Spalding himself is a fine example of that truth.

We are proud of this native son, and look forward to following his progress and he will soon begin training as a Marine Corps pilot. We are grateful for his service to country and for modeling that service for the young people of our community.