Three Oaks Christian students accepted to top military academies
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

Robby Wolfe

A desire to serve their country prompted three graduates of Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village to vie for scholarships at the U.S military academies.

Robert Wolfe of Thousand Oaks was accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York. Josh Ziska of Camarillo will report for duty at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Justin Landseadel of Simi Valley will attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado.

"It's an honor," said Wolfe. "I've always wanted to serve my country."

Wolfe will enter the academy as a "plebe," and when he graduates four years from now he will enlist as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and serve for five years.

Wolfe maintained a high grade point average during high school and was a member of the school's cross country team. He will report for basic training on July 2.

"I'm very excited for him," said his mother, Sonia Wolfe. "We're very proud of him."

Landseadel will report to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on June 28.

"I just always wanted to fly as far back as I can remember," Landseadel said.

Josh Ziska

Landseadel was recruited by Air Force to play football. He said his coach at Oaks Christian, Bill Redell, attended the academy and became a Thunderbird pilot.

Landseadel was honored as a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist and received a Mehr Scholarship. He plans to major in aeronautical engineering

"I'm really excited about this," Landseadel said. "I've been planning to do this for so long and it's actually happening."

Ziska played varsity golf in high school and earned a golf scholarship at Navy. He was accepted to both the Naval and Air Force academies, but family tradition made his choice easy. Ziska's father, grandfather and uncle all served in the Navy.

"Other schools didn't compare," he said. "There's a lot of tradition in the Navy."

Ziska reports for duty on June 27.

"In my 30plus years in education and over 25 as an administrator, I have never had three students accepted to the three major military academies in one year," Headmaster Jeff Woodcock said. "We are both amazed and proud of these students."

Justin Landseadel