Sumter's Next Generation, presented by TheLINK: Sumter High's Endicott discovers her path through determination, discipline

If there is one skill to keep in your suite of skills, it is to always be determined. No matter the situation, the circumstance or how far-fetched the solution may seem, your determination will take you far.

Few know that better than Sumter High School senior and latest West Point Academy acceptee Madelyn Endicott.

Though native to Conway, she has considered Sumter "home" since the age of 4. Having been homeschooled since the second grade, when she first stepped into a public school classroom, it was a big culture shock - but in a good way.

"I'm not an introvert or an extrovert; it's called an ambivert. I want to go out, I want to have some friends. So when I came to public school, it was definitely a big shocker," she said with a soft smile. "But for the most part, I fit in, I [made] friends pretty quickly, and that definitely makes your high school experience."

You know what else makes your high school experience? Extracurriculars. And Madelyn has no qualms about trying her hand at new things, especially when something piques her interest - like the student wearing a navy-colored uniform in her class.

Her curiosity of what the uniform was for led her down the hall to sign up for Air Force Junior ROTC.

Madelyn didn't grow up certain of what her future would hold, let alone that it would include pursuing the military. She grew up around patriotism personified, with a grandfather and step-uncle who both served as colonels in the Air Force. Though she didn't know what to expect when she signed up, she went in determined to give it her best. What she got was an about-face in the right direction.

On her first day, her folder was laid flat against the desk, her pen at the ready to take notes and her feet firmly on the floor, prepared to carry her into any formation they called out. She psyched herself out, joking about her misconception that she wondered if it was going to be like basic training, only to be surprised when the sergeant and major walked in "super chill," leaving space for them to ask questions and allow the common misconceptions of the program to slowly fade. What was left was the opportunity for Madelyn to explore the program she would come to love.

"My first semester when I was in [JROTC], I just fell in love with the program, the structure," she expressed. "I like the military aspect of it, so I decided to come back."

The more progress one makes, the more responsibilities he or she carries. For Madelyn, leadership was not immediate. It was something she had to grow into, learning the basics alongside all her fellow cadets. Though she was entrusted with roles like cadet commander and flight commander early on, she knew that to be a true leader, she needed to figure out her leadership style.

That changed after she attended the Cadet Leadership Course, which gave her the right skills and tools to step into an officer role. It was then that she understood what kind of leader she wanted to be.

"Patience and respect. That's what my leadership system is [centered] around," she explained. "I like to be personable with them. I don't want them to look at me and think that I'm like this really strict and rigorous person. There's a time to be strict, and then there's a time to play around. Most of the time, the people that are like saying hey to me are people that I joke around with, so they know that they can be comfortable around me."

Now a senior leader, she spends her time teaching younger cadets, guiding them through the same early uncertainties she once felt.

And now, she plans to take that same mindset to West Point, New York, where she will attend West Point Academy after her high school graduation.

Founded in 1802 by President Thomas Jefferson, the United States Military Academy, commonly known as West Point, is dedicated to building, educating, training and inspiring the Corps of Cadets to be "commissioned leaders of character committed to the Army Values and ready for a lifetime of service to the Army and Nation." Acceptance into West Point is a layered, demanding and nearly invisible process to anyone not walking such a path.

Meeting academic requirements was years in the making and a pillar to her acceptance that Madelyn had solidified years prior. The physical side required daily workout, preparation for the Candidate Fitness Assessment and a great amount of discipline to see it through. But the last hurdle, the nominations, may have been the hardest, she said, taking her and her mom across the state and into meetings with congressional members who would endorse her dreams.

In the end, the nominations of Rep. Jim Clyburn, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll led to her acceptance.

"I was ecstatic," she said joyfully about when she received her acceptance call. "It was a great day."

After graduation, she will begin six weeks of rigorous summer training, beginning June 29. It's the part she admitted to being the most nervous about. But, even in that uncertainty, she remains "excited" to continue the military aspect of schooling and is determined to see it through.

That balance of nervous anticipation and quiet confidence has defined much of Madelyn's journey so far. In the end, her journey shows that determination isn't about reaching a goal. Rather, it's about staying the course long enough to discover who you are, refine where you're going and turn uncertainty into reality.