When West Point held its graduation ceremony this week, one cadet was overcome with emotion.
The image of Second Lt. Alix Schoelcher Idrache went viral after it was posted on Instagram. The young officer stood for the ceremony with tears coursing down his cheeks.
The ‘American Dream’ photo at West Point that went viral// an immigrant from Haiti – moving https://t.co/uei0Gd0GBr pic.twitter.com/WrbKbgo4gi
— Patricia Zengerle ? (@ReutersZengerle) May 26, 2016
The Huffington Post reports that the story of how Idrache came to be on that graduation stage helps to explain his emotion.
Idrache was born in Haiti, a poor country, where his family struggled to make a living. As a boy, he watched U.S. forces in Port-au-Prince engaged in humanitarian work. He was awed by the technology he saw, especially the Chinook helicopters. He began to dream of one day becoming a military pilot. But the dream seemed to be out of his reach.
“People where I’m from don’t grow up to be pilots right? They don’t dream of flying a helicopter, that’s not something you do. You don’t just say I’m going to be a pilot and make it happen. There’re no aviation, there’re no helicopters, no flight schools. There’re none of that.”
But in 2009, Idrache moved to Maryland, following his father who had come here looking for work. He joined the Maryland National Guard, and in 2012 he headed to West Point. He is the first Maryland National Guard member to graduate from the prestigious military academy.
As he stood in tears during the graduation ceremony, Idrache explained that he was thinking of three things.
“At this moment, I was overwhelmed with emotions. Three things came to mind and led to those tears. The first is where I started … The second is where I am … The third is my future.”
What a fabulous story! A young immigrant, inspired by the good works of the U.S. military in his home country, comes to the States and achieves his greatest dream. In only seven years, he went from barely speaking English to graduating at the top of his class in physics.
Lt. Idrache is filled with gratitude for the opportunities he has been given and he expresses that gratitude beautifully.
“Men and women who have preserved the very essence of the human condition stood in that position and took the same oath. Knowing that one day I will be a pilot is humbling beyond words. I could not help but be flooded with emotions knowing that I will be leading these men and women who are willing to give their all to preserve what we value as the American way of life. To me, that is the greatest honor. Once again, thank you.”
Here is a part of the West Point graduation ceremony where Lt. Idrache received his degree.
Featured image by Staff Sgt. Vito T. Bryant of West Point via Flickr. Available through Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0
