AAPI Month: Xinbo Wang
POSTED ON: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 3:26 PM by mediarelations@usna.edu
For the final day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we recognize Midshipman 1/C (senior) Xinbo Wang (王新博),a member of 30th Company and a quantitative economics major from San Diego.
Midshipman Wang was born and raised in the Shaanxi province of northwest China. He lived there until the age of 17 when his parents decided to find a better place for him and his two siblings in the United States. “I’m extremely grateful for my parents bringing my family here,” said Wang. “They love living here, and it’s given me opportunities and avenues to grow and develop as a person.” After moving to America, he visited his uncle who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and gave him exposure to the military lifestyle.
Wang originally planned to attend a civilian college, but he yearned for something different and found tuition to be extremely expensive for international students. He decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy and became an aviation structural mechanic safety equipment (AME), reaching the rank of petty officer second class. Working with aviators, Wang met a USNA pilot who told him about the Naval Academy where he could earn a commission and a college degree.
After much research, Wang decided that this was a great opportunity for him to lead his own Sailors and earn a college degree. At the Naval Academy, Wang is involved in several extracurriculars such as the Chinese Culture Club, the Midshipman Action Group, and the USNA Finance and Investment Club.
MIDN Wang has early-selected to become a surface warfare (nuclear) officer. He said “most people assume I would want to be a pilot because of my prior service, but I think being a SWO would give me the fullest exposure and challenges to practice leadership with lessons I’ve learned here.” Wang will eventually serve on a naval surface vessel to earn his qualification pin and then head to Nuclear Power School in Charleston. “SWO is a good way to lead early on, and for the nuclear part—I get to lead the most elite group.”
Category: General Interest, People