The Mirror Newspapers Reflecting Life Along The Maumee River
BY KAREN GERHARDINGER | MIRROR REPORTER — Parker Schofield’s longtime goal has been to get into the U.S. Naval Academy, but it wasn’t until he presented his parents with a Navy flag last Christmas that they knew he’d made his decision.
On June 29, Parker will arrive in Annapolis, Md., with just the clothes on his back, a phone, documents and a mullet hairstyle, ready to get a haircut and spend the summer running and drilling. While he’s leaning toward an engineering-related major, Parker won’t decide until his sophomore year, but he does know that following graduation, he’ll have a five-year U.S. Navy commitment.
“I’m really excited to get there. I wish I could teleport and be there right now,” Parker said.
The Anthony Wayne High School senior knows what to expect better than most of the incoming freshmen at the naval academy, since his sister, Sam, is a senior and 2022 AW graduate Rory Smith is now a sophomore.
When Sam arrived in 2020, she wasn’t able to participate in the normal plebe summer routines because of the pandemic.
“I’m going to get the full experience. My sister said she might even be the one screaming at me – if they let her. If not, she said she’s got a mole in every company, so she’ll know where I am,” he laughed.
Rory gave him some insight into classes and declaring a major, as well as the ambience of the academy.
“He said I’m going to make my best friends and create so many memories during plebe summer,” Parker said.
The Schofield family has a legacy of military service, as far back as Parker’s great-grandparents. His dad, Ed, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1987 and retired as a Navy commander after serving 20 years as a helicopter pilot. His mom, Janet, retired as a Navy captain after 25 years as a pilot. Many of their family members live near Annapolis, and Parker has visited the campus numerous times.
As he set a goal of joining a military academy, Parker got involved and took the most difficult classes possible, graduating with a 4.68 GPA. As a member of the National Honor Society, Parker has volunteered, including tutoring third- and fourth-graders in math.
He’s also been active on both varsity and club basketball and soccer.
“I started playing soccer when I was so little that I picked grass in the field because I didn’t know what the game was,” he said. As he grew, Parker became involved with Greater Toledo Futbol Club and Pacesetter as well as Anthony Wayne, where, as a striker, he’s been named NLL and district player of the year as well as first team all-state.
In basketball, he’s played for the Generals as point guard and was named NLL player of the year. He also played basketball with Ohio Buckets, Antelope Elite and other travel teams.
When he arrives at the U.S. Naval Academy, Parker plans to see if he can walk on to the soccer team, but it’s a Division I team and he expects the competition to be fierce.
While his play time is wrapped up, Parker is spending his last weeks in town watching his friends’ tournaments, working at BibiBop Asian Grille and working out with Pro Day Performance’s Dorian Hooker.
“Dorian really puts me through it. And I’ll need it. I know I’ll be doing a lot of running,” Parker said.
