Lehi People
Local Senior earns rare Presidential Nomination to West Point
Megan Wallgren | Lehi Free Press
Local high school senior Jade Tolman has earned one of the nation’s rarest and most prestigious distinctions for students seeking a military career: a Presidential Nomination to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Only about five students nationwide receive this nomination each year.
For most applicants, entry to West Point requires a congressional nomination from a U.S. senator or representative. Tolman’s path, however, was different.
“I got a weird nomination,” she said with a laugh. “Mine came from the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of the Army. It has all three signatures.”
Securing even a standard nomination demands an exceptional academic, physical and leadership record. A Presidential Nomination puts Tolman, a senior at the Utah Military Academy in Lehi, among the elite.
To qualify, she first had to meet strict athletic requirements. Tolman is a multi-sport varsity athlete in volleyball, cross country, and Raiders, a military fitness team specializing in obstacle courses and endurance challenges.
Academically, Tolman exceeded expectations. She earned a 28 on the ACT, a 1290 on the SAT, and a 93 on West Point’s Army Vocational Aptitude test. Although her high school doesn’t offer AP Capstone, she found her own way to pursue rigorous coursework. She completed two associate degrees and two university certificates through Utah Valley University, accumulating 75 college credits before graduation. She went on to earn a neurology certification from the University of Utah and even completed several Harvard online courses, as she put it, “for kicks and giggles.”
She credits her school counselors and teachers for supporting her demanding schedule. She took 19 classes in 12 class periods, working through both her high school and Utah Online School. “Anything I needed, they said, ‘Yep, we’ve got you,’” she shared.
Tolman has also shown herself as a strong leader with proven character. She participates in 21 extracurricular activities and has taken leadership roles in 17 of them. Her involvement spans National Honor Society, Kitty Hawk Air Society, peer tutoring, the school’s speech and debate team, the M Club and community service. She also served on Kroger’s national Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Youth Advisory Council, a group of only 15 students selected from across the country.
“It was one heck of a process,” she said. “Everything is based on point values, and I landed in the top five percent of candidates.”
Tolman qualified for the Presidential Nomination because of both her achievements and her family’s service background. Presidential Nominations are only open to family of military members or those serving in Junior ROTC. She has completed JROTC, and her brother, Marcus Tolman, serves in the Army and previously attended West Point. She also has an uncle who is a Marine.
Jade says her desire to join the military began around age 11, inspired largely by her brother. “He was a huge inspiration. He’d wake up for 5 a.m. runs every day, help anyone who needed it, and stay up with me all night if that’s what I needed.”
Meeting veterans and service members deepened her motivation. “They all had this ideal that you always take care of each other and always show up. I loved that community,” she said.
At West Point, Tolman hopes to pursue a dual commission in medical services and special warfare. The position would place her as a medical officer attached to special operations units, providing hands-on care in high-need environments and working with international coalitions. She aims to take part in humanitarian efforts and military missions in places where medical support might not otherwise reach.
“I’ve always wanted to be that person. To introduce medicine, to help where help wouldn’t come otherwise,” she said. Tolman hopes to make the Army a full career, typically lasting about 20 years.
For Tolman, military service is fully committing to serve the community. “If you put everything into it and genuinely try to be better, that’s all it takes,” she said. “Students don’t realize how much impact they can have just by saying yes when someone needs help.”
Tolman expects to report to West Point in June 2026.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “It’s a community of people who are constantly striving for the betterment of themselves and everything around them. I can’t wait to be part of that.”
