Saint Thomas Academy Senior from Stillwater Appointed to West Point

Two Saint Thomas Academy seniors have received appointments to U.S. military academies following graduation. Erik Vick of Stillwater will attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and Maxwell Shuman of Edina will attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

Erik Vick

Vick dedicated himself to community service, academics, athletics and theater during his six years at Saint Thomas Academy. The brigade executive officer and cadet lieutenant colonel, Vick has received many awards and commendations through his junior year, including Superior Cadet, Best Squad, Cadet Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) of the Year, the Jack Zahr Coaches’ Award for excellence on the track and field team, and five Eagle Awards, the Academy’s highest academic award given annually. He was also a National History Day State Award Winner in 2016 and serves as captain of the peer mentoring team, for which he has volunteered since his sophomore year.

Vick has earned several leading and supporting roles in many theater productions and variety shows both for the combined theater program of Saint Thomas Academy and Visitation School, VISTA Productions, and the Stillwater Community Theater.

Vick is actively involved with Saint Andrew’s Lutheran Church, where he has participated in the church choirs since the 5th grade and is a regular soloist, and has volunteered for the youth peer ministry, served twice as a youth summer camp counselor and was a vacation bible school leader for four years. He has also participated in two of the church’s mission trips to Jamaica as well as a third service learning mission trip to Guatemala with Saint Thomas Academy classmates.

A certified scuba diver since he was 14, Vick has earned a varsity letter in track and field every year since 2012, and was chosen captain of the team for the 2016-2017 season. He was an All-Conference Honorable Mention in the 2015-2016 season.

Max Shuman

As a cadet lieutenant colonel and the blue battalion commander, Shuman is one of the top six leaders in the Corps of Cadets. In his four years at Saint Thomas Academy, Shuman has participated in math club, peer mentoring, the anti-substance CHOOSE initiative and Key Club, and has lettered in both lacrosse and football. In his junior year, he was chosen the NCO of the quarter and received the school’s Eagle Award for academic excellence every year, and the Reserve Officers Association Award for dedication to citizenship, military orientation, self-discipline and work ethic.

Outside of school, he has volunteered for the golden eagles program at the Minneapolis American Indian Center and Thanksgiving Meal on Wheels, and has led vacation bible school at St. John the Baptist and St. Michael’s Catholic churches. He was also named captain of his Junior Gold hockey team for the 2016-2017 season.

About Saint Thomas Academy

Founded in 1885, Saint Thomas Academy is an all-male, college preparatory, Catholic, military/leadership school committed to preparing young men to succeed in college and in life. The Academy challenges its students, currently grades 7-12, to excel academically, spiritually, morally and physically in and out of the classroom. In the fall of 2017, 6th grade will be added to the Saint Thomas Academy Middle School. It is fully accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS); a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Minnesota Association of Independent Schools (MAIS), and the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States (AMCSUS). For more information, please visit www.cadets.com.

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Photo cutline (L-R): Saint Thomas Academy seniors Erik Vick of Stillwater and Maxwell Shuman of Edina have received appointments to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy, respectively.