Karns City valedictorian to become one of few West Point attendees from school district
FAIRVIEW TWP — High school has kept Mason Bell pretty busy. He is on track to be this year’s valedictorian at Karns City Area Jr./Sr. High School, a title he earned even while participating in numerous extracurricular activities and sports, from the track and field team to National Honor Society to the school’s ski club, which he helped found.
On top of that, he submitted numerous essays and completed a physical evaluation last year as part of the application process to get into the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also applied to the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy, and appealed to U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, and U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick, for nominations to the academies.
After graduation, Mason will become one of — if not the first — student from Karns City to attend the prestigious military school.
For one of his longtime teachers, the development of Mason’s future plans is not a huge surprise.
“I've been with him since fourth grade, and I kind of saw that in him from the very beginning, the leadership qualities about him,” said Terry MacKrell, gifted program coordinator for Karns City Area School District. “So, I'm very proud of him for making it in there (West Point).”
Mason recently took first in the senior presidents category at the national championships of the Academic Games, where he has competed for much of his public school career. It was his studies for the Academic Games that led to his decision to pursue higher education in the military. He studied presidential history to prepare for the competition, and their roles in military conflict and wars stood out to him, Mason said.
West Point is a military academy that trains cadets for future roles in the U.S. Army. Its website says it looks for well-rounded individuals who excel in leadership, physical fitness and demonstrate unwavering character. Its selection process identifies the rare individuals who possess the ability to succeed at West Point and the desire to serve as Army officers.
The application process was indeed rigorous for the Karns City Area student.
“I think I had to write three essays for West Point,” Mason said, “and I applied to all three, Army, Navy and Air Force, and each of them had two or three of their own essays to write.”
Even after applying to the military academy, Mason’s work was not done. He had to pass a physical fitness test, which involved sit-ups, pushups, a shuttle run, a mile run and a seated basketball throw, among other challenges. The essays he wrote to the Pennsylvania legislators also took a lot of thought to complete.
“The congressmen, they have their own separate applications that you list your extracurriculars for, you write a separate essay for them and you have to go to congressional interviews,” Mason said. “From Kelly I got nominated to go to all three (academies), and then I got a nomination to go to West Point from both Fetterman and McCormick.”
Mason said he is looking forward to going to college, and will fully develop his plan for his military career once there. He said he thinks his high school career prepared him well for the military academy, with the application process being its own challenge that his academic background helped him get through.
“You’ve got to stay busy, it’s a couple sports, extra things like that, lots of clubs,” Bell said. “I’ve taken most of the high-level classes I could take.”
