<p>Okay, long story short. My school is one of the NYC’s schools that have scanning like regular airports do. On Friday I went to scanning like a normal day, going to school at 630 in the morning and the security guards found a pen knife in my coat. I was unaware that the pen knife was there. Luckily, I won’t get a summons because the knife itself was less than 4 inches however, I will get a hearing for a possible superintendent’s suspension of a minimum six days. While this will affect my grades dearly, how will this hinder my chances of getting into the Academy?</p>
<p>make sure that when the academy asks you, tell them everything. it'll be another time-consumer because you'll have to get all the reports and stuff (if it goes to the police), etc. just make sure to explain it thoroughly. you've still got a long way to go though, this'll just make things a bit more difficult.</p>
<p>you can also view it though as a learning experience. you obviously are going to face some adversity with this so plug ahead and make sure you learn from it</p>
<p>you say that you were not aware the knife was in your coat. why do you even need to posess a pen knife anyway?? it was in your coat because at one time you put it there and you either forgot you had it or you are playing mickey the dunce since you got caught. instead of playing with knives you should put that effort into you weight loss program and fitness schedule.</p>
<p>You are very harsh! haha :D</p>
<p>stvblm-that was not constructive or needed. Please keep comments like that to yourself.</p>
<p>AC- Well said. I agree. WE don't know the whole story, so good call.</p>
<p>AFPJ- Just like they have said, it will just be a bit of a hurdle you will have to jump of sorts. A friend of mine had a similar problem except with a fight. It messed up some stuff at his school and I'm not sure if there were any charges or anything, but bottom line is that he made sure that he told the academy about it (even though he went Navy) and he got an appointment a little later on. Its just something you will have to work around.
Like Eagle said, just keep plugging ahead and stick with it. :)</p>
<p>stvblm listen. I'm not trying to make excuses but that day I was going on a trip to the Catskill Mountains. It's an annual trip and it’s extremely cold up there so I took out my BDU gortex out which had the pen knife in it from last year's trip which was at Fort Dix/Maguire AFB. It came in handy when a friend of mine got a tick and also when another friend of mine got hurt during the obstacle course at Fort Dix where I needed to cut a rope. Oh and I'm not trying to run away from this either; I am taking responsibility. I try to implement the Honor Code into my daily life. Anyway, I will let the Academy know however my main concern is my academics. I don’t have a lot of friends in school so it’s going to be hard getting the work. I’m going to have to do a lot of traveling as usual going back and forth from the suspension center and school so I can get the work. I have a question for anyone that had surgery or was out of class for a long period of time for whatever reason. It's hard enough keeping my head over the water when I'm in school, how would you handle/handled it when out of school?</p>
<p>If the academy is still your ultimate goal you could always serve a few years as enlisted and then apply from there. I know of one of my squad mates that had a full ride to ROTC because of academics but then got busted for embezzlement or something of the sort and so he turned down the scholarship feeling that he didn't deserve it but a couple years later here he is at the Academy.</p>
<p>I guess what I mean by this is there are other ways to get here if you give it your all, but don't let that stop you from kicking butt and taking names this year. Give it your all and don't let ANYONE hold you back.</p>
<p>AFPJ: I'm sure stvblm was merely using some "tough love" and did not mean to cause any harm (despite the rather harsh wording of the post). He has been following the other threads that you have started and I'm sure he wants to help you out. Otherwise he would have not replied to this thread.</p>
<p>We all want to see you suceed in your AFA aspirations AFPJ, but constant complaining and if I may, whining about your adverstities is not going to help you get anywhere. You have told us many of your stories and we have sympathy. Everyone wants to help you and I'm certain of it. Nobody on this forum wants to see you fail. But in the cliched words: you must help yourself before we help you.</p>
<p>Have a little faith and hope for the best but you gotta work your *ss off to get it all together. It won't come easy, nothing in life you really want does... But, if you really want it with all you got then you will get it, despite the mountains in your way. You can do it, otherwise the wonderful people on this forum wouldn't help you out.</p>
<p>afpj you may not be making excuses for the knife but you make excuses all the time for not training for PT, not being able to get your grades up. no matter what arises you have a reason for not doing it based on your past post's many people offer you good advice but you refuse to listen. if you get suspeneded use that time to study and work out</p>
<p>hey AFPJ, I am a NYC student too and I was wondering which school you go too because those random checks get you like they took away my cell phone from me and since I am from Aviation High School we carry sheet metal projects and they decided to take that away but at the end I got it back because it was a school project. Im sure the academy would understand your situation and by the way who is you congressman or congresswomen? I am Jamaica, Queens and I am alsa applying to the academy for class of 2013 and I dont know if you have heard of NY 932nd unit but I was the wing commander last year. Hey I wish you the best of luck in that situation.</p>
<p>Uddit Patel</p>
<p>About your question on keeping up with academics, when does your suspension start? Because I know when I missed a week of school for a tennis tournament out of state, I got all the work and what I was supposed to learn from my teachers before I left, so that I could study, and it turned out I was ahead when I got back because the class moved slower than the teacher expected.</p>
<p>My recommendation-talk to or e-mail your teachers and get as much work as you can before hand, so you aren't making it up later</p>
<p>I am at Dewitt Clinton. NY-821. Bronx, New York. Don't know if you know Major Rosenbaum but he use to teach at Aviation. I met a TAC officer at CAP NY Wing Encampment a while back he seem to know the Major. Have you gone to SLS, Sgt Messina is one of my instructors. I wonder if you know him. Those aren't random checks, I have regular scanning every morning and we can't go outside for lunch or free period. It's a pain in the neck, especially since the security guards, who are really nothing more than the NYPD officers without guns, are so rude but hey, it's one of those things I have to suck up and deal with. Few students leave their phone at the deli or Bodega for a dollar; I wish I could bring electronics into the school. I would bring a laptop and get so much work done. My congressman is Jose E. Serrano. Anyway, any suggestions concerning maintaining my grades up while being out of school so long? I’m sure it has happened to a few cadets for other reasons like surgery. Well I got a phone call today when I got home saying my suspension started today (even though I was in school today and I have not had my hearing yet) No wonder the alarm went off today when I swiped my ID through the computer. Anyway, my hearing is Monday. This means I am going to miss this week and then at the hearing they might decide to give me a suspension of at least six days (Discipline Code Citywide Standard of Discipline and Intervention Measures of NYC Board of Ed) so I am pretty much royally screwed over. You know the day I found out I was ready to give up everything. I was convinced that every conceivable alternative to becoming an officer in the Air force was gone. But I'm not totally convinced. I'm going to continue on, it isn't over till its over.</p>
<p>"and it turned out I was ahead when I got back because the class moved slower than the teacher expected."</p>
<p>It seems like that always happens...</p>
<p>Well as weird as it is hearing all this about check stations and alarms and all that jazz (I'm just a good old Montana boy, we don't get ANY of that stuff ;) ) Again, my advice definitely is to just persevere through it all. I can't tell you from expirience, but from the obvious, and from talking to everyone on here as well, the Academy can and will kick your ass but you have to have that devotion and desire to keep going no matter what. You have to want it. We have all had our share of adversity. Everyone does. Which is why the online application asks about it. Everyone has in some way or another. Definitely take the advice about getting the work as soon as possible. I have been gone a few times from school for various reasons, trips, fun, it doesn't matter. But if you can get that work before hand, Flyersboy is right, it does, more often than not, work out that you will come out ahead in the end. The bottom line: if its something you truely want, you will keep at it no matter what. If the Academy is where you want to be, then keep trying until you can't. Don't get in this year? Go for a AFROTC Scholarship (BullitandPima are great on answering questions with that) and try again next year if its still something you want to do. You are right. It isn't over till its over, and don't let anyone else decide that for you.</p>
<p>I had surgery after Basic, about 10 lessons into school, right in time for GR season. I had surgey 2 weeks before my GRs though. I was out of school for a week, then still had bedrest for the next week. I've been on some major pain killers ever since, and they totally mess with me! I had about a 1 week notice before surgery, so I got together with all my teachers and completed all my homework for those 2 weeks. I went to bed really late and was up really early to try to get 3 weeks of homework done in 1. It really sucked because I had to learn all the lessons I'd be missing, and then do the homework. USAFA10s helped me so much with calc! Pretty much all you can do is plug and chug. At least you won't be drugged up when trying to do all this! You will probably have lots of extra time, more than you usually do, unless it's in-school suspension. You should have no time issues.</p>
<p>you can do it just put your mind to it and you will achieve your goal
Just work hard</p>
<p>Any chance that your suspension can be reduced at the hearing, particularly if this is your first offense, and an honest mistake? Ask for them to give you a break at the hearing. As far as making up the work, hang out at the teacher or employee entrance, and ask you teachers for the assignments, or hang around outside of school at the day's end, and ask a classmate for the assignments. Adapt, overcome, and persist. You can't change the past, only deal with the present, and make plans for the future. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>Okay well I'm two days into the in-school suspension and its going okay so far. My hearing is Monday so I might return to school Tuesday or Wednesday since I am pleading immediate reinstatement. So far, the in-school suspension is going alright. We aren’t really doing anything, so I use that time to study and not get eaten alive by the other kids. It sucks, because we are all treated like criminals, but I just take it one step at a time, wait till lunch, then till dismissal. My friend is collecting all the work and she is giving it to my girlfriend who then gives it to me. I can’t go to my home school myself because I’ll get arrested for trespassing. I was talking to my instructor yesterday and he told me something that caught my eye. I have known that Sgt for four years. He told me that I have this habit of taking on too much. He said that I look at the wall and instead of knocking on it and saying I can’t go through, I run towards it and get hurt. He said to me that in my mind I think that I’m a fighter and I have guts and I never give up (which is true, I do think like that) Whereas other people think I’m a downright fool . Is this true? Is that bad trait for an officer? He also said I’m a glory hound (I admit I love attention), and that trait is going to get me killed in the military. How can I change this? Deep this down inside I just want to fly and serve and be happy.</p>