News Article Release

Brazilian Midshipmen Visit U.S. Naval Academy

Mar 06, 2012

By MC2 Alexia Riveracorrea

Two Brazilian exchange midshipmen visited the U.S. Naval Academy from Feb.18 to March 3 as part of an annual exchange program to gain personal and professional experience working with other cultures.

During the two-week visit, Midshipmen 1st Class Guilherme Trindade Vilela and Leandro Ribeiro Dos Santos Montenegro were absorbed into everyday life at the academy, attending classes, playing sports and generally interacting with the U.S. midshipmen.

“It has been an interesting exchange program,” said Vilela, of the Barra Mansa municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. “The academy offered us opportunities to improve our English, learn a different culture and experience new things.”

The Brazilian mids chose their own classes, participating in the ones they thought would benefit them the most.

“It is nice to be able to select which classes to attend,” said Vilela, who was assigned to 23rd Company while in Annapolis. “As a future fleet officer in Brazil, it is great to have options and take part in classes outside your major. This is definitely a great way to study and learn something different.”

According to Vilela, the visit gave everyone a chance to build relationships, network and share culture.

“Making friends is important,” said Vilela. “If I become friends with someone from the Marine Corps, for example, I hope to be able to operate and fight together against the enemy. It definitely makes things easier.”

Along with the culture shock of visiting a foreign country, they said that the size and independence at the academy was much different than at the Brazilian Naval Academy, which only holds 800 midshipmen.

“We had to choose between the Brazilian Naval Base in Antarctica and the U.S. Naval Academy, and without a doubt we knew going to the America was going to be an amazing experience,” said Vilela. “We had a memorable experience, and cannot wait to go back to Brazil and teach our juniors the things we learned here.”