Sponsor Program

sophieee

Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2018
Messages
51
Hi,

It would be great if anyone who has knowledge regarding the sponsor program and the class of 23 could give me some advices.
I was filling out my sponsor questionnaire and realized that I could choose to have a sponsor family or not. From reading different posts, my understanding is that I would spend time during breaks and weekends with my sponsor family.

So here are some of my questions [that I might be worrying too much about...]:
What if I'm visiting my family during vacations and other breaks?
What if I don't fit well with the family?
Would you recommend that I apply for the program?
What are some of you guys (of '23) doing?

Thanks in advance for any advices!
 
Hey Sophieee,

I am currently finishing up my plebe year and would 100% recommend you participating in the sponsor program. It is great to have a second family in the Annapolis area. Plus, sponsors can provide help with numerous things throughout your time at the academy.

How involved midshipmen and sponsor families are with each other is totally up for the two parties to decide. You also have to cross your fingers and hope you get a good sponsor. Some of my classmates haven't had a very active midshipmen-sponsor relationship.

As far as my sponsor goes, I see them a couple of times a month. It is nice to have a place to go while on liberty and hang out. I often have dinner at my sponsor's house and hang out there with friends. In addition, my sponsors are gracious enough to give me rides to the airport and let me store stuff in their attic over the summer.

If you don't fit in with your family there is no reason you have to spend time with them. If you are visiting your biological family over leave your sponsors will not be offended by any means. Most midshipmen sign up for the sponsor program. If you don't end up getting along with your sponsor another midshipman might be able to take you to their sponsor's house.

Shout out to my Sponsors! I appreciate y'all!
 
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@Temple17

Glad you have good sponsors, nice post, great gouge from a current mid.

@sophieee

Speaking as a long-time sponsor...

You are in control of where you spend your leave and liberty time. A sponsor family is just another option for you. We have hosted many Thanksgiving “orphans,” for whom travel home was too expensive or too far.

You may find the right fit with your sponsor family, or not. If it doesn’t feel comfortable to you, just be polite and respond to emails with appropriate appreciation. You may find yourself “adopted” by a friend’s sponsor family, where, in the words of Goldilocks, it feels “just right.” We have had many adoptees over the years.

There are different styles of sponsoring. We live 8 miles from Gate 8 and can offer rides, nap-worthy sofas, ears that have heard a lot, upperclass mids and visiting alumni sponsor family who come by the house and are a source of info and support, home-cooked meals, quiet places to be alone, cool sheets, dogs on demand to snuggle with, the famous Cookie Locker and at least 5 flavors of ice cream at all times and most importantly, a tankless hot water heater, which heroically supports non-stop long mid showers and laundry on weekends.

If your sponsor is non-responsive, and sadly, as this is a volunteer program, there are some who sign up and then ghost their mids or seem to think it’s a free baby-sitting or labor service, you can drop by or email the sponsor office to request another. We have taken in plebes later in the year when the sponsor office asks.

As I noted, you are in control of your time and how you spend it. You may find your sponsors become a second family, and you are still visiting them 20 years from now when you are back for a reunion, or having them at your wedding. Or you may occasionally come over, but spend liberty time in other ways and with new friends. You will figure it out, as thousands have before you.

Two weeks from now, a sponsor alumni daughter is visiting with her 4 kids and USAF husband while they take them to DC monuments and museums. This week, we’re going to the Pentagon to the promotion ceremony for a sponsor daughter attaining the rank of Navy Captain, our first to attain that rank. On Mother’s Day, an alumni sponsor son and his wife are taking us out to dinner, as both have lost their mothers. We have 3 weddings to attend this year of alumni sponsor sons and daughters. This is one of the most enriching experiences of our lives, and we so enjoy the expanded family created by our sponsor experience.

Be open to new adults in your life, figure out what feels right to you, be adult in your dealings with sponsors, and all willl be well.
 
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If your sponsor is non-responsive, and sadly, as this is a volunteer program, there are some who sign up and then ghost their mids or seem to think it’s a free baby-sitting or labor service, you can drop by or email the sponsor office to request another.

Just to reinforce this point, my DD had a sponsor family as a Plebe that just didn't work out for either side. This was the sponsor families first time sponsoring and I think they realized it wasn't for them. DD was ghosted by them and soon figured it was time to move on. She requested another sponsor family and it has worked out wonderfully for both sides for 3+ years. DD graduates and commissions in a couple of weeks and her sponsor family will be among the most important people to be there for her.
 
you should give it a go, my plebe who is an only child- has a sponsor family who has a large family has been a sponsor family and a military family for many years- since he and we as a family were new to all of this, I think he hit the jack pot in families as he could talk to them about things we just could not relate to. Even with a big family and having many sponsorships -they always gave him space- I don't think my son utilized them as much as he could have- he did not want to inconvenience them if he only had a few hours do to a late foot ball game or something- so he usually only went over for long weekends and holidays
 
Capt MJ, you make my heart happy. My DD just received her candidate packet for class of 2024. No matter what happens over the next year, it is so nice that families like yours step in to help out the students. You had me at dog-snuggling on demand.
 
Capt MJ, you make my heart happy. My DD just received her candidate packet for class of 2024. No matter what happens over the next year, it is so nice that families like yours step in to help out the students. You had me at dog-snuggling on demand.

The coolest thing is when alumni sponsor sons and daughters show up at the door after having been away a few years at flight training, on deployment, etc., and there is that one long indrawn sniff, then the explosive joy of recognition. We usually have to wait a few minutes for our hugs because there is a reunion going on. At any one time, we usually have 1-3 boxers in the house. They are excellent mid buddies, ready for naps, walks, lap draping, etc.
 
My "official" sponsors faded away pretty quickly and I was brought into another family through a friend of a friend. Almost immediately, some new brothers who were upperclassmen gave me a shoulder and ear as I was having a very rough time and even without the actual sponsors, just the other mids that were there were a godsend to me. The sponsors themselves were substitute/stand in parents with advice, help and making me a member of the family. Just like any family, we helped with walking the dogs and I used to help out by mowing the lawn whenever I could. They put up visiting girlfriends and Mids when they were on weekends. They lived far enough away and had enough room that they could keep a half dozen or so Mids cars for them but also lent out their car (one was a Porsche) when we asked or when we went out to pick up takeout food, etc.

Sadly, they divorced a few yrs after I graduated and both passed away young but they and their daughters had important roles in my time at USNA.
 
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It is my sincerest hope that my DS finds an environment like that.
 
There is a special place in heaven for you sponsors.
My DD class of 2019 has been blessed with a great family that has been doing it f0r a long time. She has benefitted from all the above but also I noticed it was quite helpful early on in her USNA 4 years to have upper classman in their home and that it was made a "safe space" ....even for a plebe!! She had the benefit of their advice and hanging out with grads as well that would come back into town and visit there sponsor and get career advice. My DD spent a lot of time just talking and cooking with her mid mom. Priceless
 
@Temple17

Glad you have good sponsors, nice post, great gouge from a current mid.

@sophieee

Speaking as a long-time sponsor...

You are in control of where you spend your leave and liberty time. A sponsor family is just another option for you. We have hosted many Thanksgiving “orphans,” for whom travel home was too expensive or too far.

You may find the right fit with your sponsor family, or not. If it doesn’t feel comfortable to you, just be polite and respond to emails with appropriate appreciation. You may find yourself “adopted” by a friend’s sponsor family, where, in the words of Goldilocks, it feels “just right.” We have had many adoptees over the years.

There are different styles of sponsoring. We live 8 miles from Gate 8 and can offer rides, nap-worthy sofas, ears that have heard a lot, upperclass mids and visiting alumni sponsor family who come by the house and are a source of info and support, home-cooked meals, quiet places to be alone, cool sheets, dogs on demand to snuggle with, the famous Cookie Locker and at least 5 flavors of ice cream at all times and most importantly, a tankless hot water heater, which heroically supports non-stop long mid showers and laundry on weekends.

If your sponsor is non-responsive, and sadly, as this is a volunteer program, there are some who sign up and then ghost their mids or seem to think it’s a free baby-sitting or labor service, you can drop by or email the sponsor office to request another. We have taken in plebes later in the year when the sponsor office asks.

As I noted, you are in control of your time and how you spend it. You may find your sponsors become a second family, and you are still visiting them 20 years from now when you are back for a reunion, or having them at your wedding. Or you may occasionally come over, but spend liberty time in other ways and with new friends. You will figure it out, as thousands have before you.

Two weeks from now, a sponsor alumni daughter is visiting with her 4 kids and USAF husband while they take them to DC monuments and museums. This week, we’re going to the Pentagon to the promotion ceremony for a sponsor daughter attaining the rank of Navy Captain, our first to attain that rank. On Mother’s Day, an alumni sponsor son and his wife are taking us out to dinner, as both have lost their mothers. We have 3 weddings to attend this year of alumni sponsor sons and daughters. This is one of the most enriching experiences of our lives, and we so enjoy the expanded family created by our sponsor experience.

Be open to new adults in your life, figure out what feels right to you, be adult in your dealings with sponsors, and all willl be well.

Wow. Who cares about my plebe...Do you sponsor plebe parents? :)
 
Thank you for all the advices! I decided to stop worrying and just give it a go[emoji3]
 
I have a cousin who is an empty nester who lives in Bowie, MD (about 18 miles from USNA.) My question is this for my DS, they do not have any military experience but would be happy to have him. Would he be better off with a family who has been through this process?
 
Capt MJ, you make my heart happy. My DD just received her candidate packet for class of 2024. No matter what happens over the next year, it is so nice that families like yours step in to help out the students. You had me at dog-snuggling on demand.

The coolest thing is when alumni sponsor sons and daughters show up at the door after having been away a few years at flight training, on deployment, etc., and there is that one long indrawn sniff, then the explosive joy of recognition. We usually have to wait a few minutes for our hugs because there is a reunion going on. At any one time, we usually have 1-3 boxers in the house. They are excellent mid buddies, ready for naps, walks, lap draping, etc.
Boxers are the best!!! Anyone who has not met one should try to ASAP. Another example of Capt MJ wisdom.
 
I have a cousin who is an empty nester who lives in Bowie, MD (about 18 miles from USNA.) My question is this for my DS, they do not have any military experience but would be happy to have him. Would he be better off with a family who has been through this process?

The sponsors are a mix of rookies and pros, military and non-military, officer and enlisted, all services. Bowie’s an easy ride. Everyone is a rookie at some point, and the point is to have a welcoming place and people to escape to. There is a lower age limit, and a basic background check. All are welcome, all are needed.

If they want to do it, they should fill out the app online, go to one of the training sessions, get into the sponsor database. The training is a few hours, with a couple of different dates. It’s do’s and don’ts, contact info, etc. Your DS has to list them for the match to be made; they have to request him.

Look at the hamburger menu, upper left:

https://www.usna.edu/Sponsor/index.php
 
Our USNA Class of 2024 hopeful (just got LOA this week!) is already thinking he may miss the 4-legged members of his family more than the human components. SIGH. So can you actually request a sponsor family with pets?
 
Our boxers have sponsored many mids over the years. Nap companions, tug of war partners, walking buddies, snugglers - very experienced at welcoming plebes and general pastoral care of midshipmen.

I think there is a block on the mid app for pets/no pets.

The reunions at the door when grads return to visit are explosive.
 
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