Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) is giving a heartfelt congratulations to Matthew Klendworth, a 2021 CATEC Fire Science graduate and Western Albemarle High School junior, who recently went to Beckley, West Virginia to the Military Entrance Processing Station to be processed into the Navy. He went through medical physicals and was sworn in to the Navy two weeks ago.
Going through this process as a junior in high school allows him to be paid in boot camp as a member of the Navy for one year. With his 18 CATEC Fire Science dual-enrollment college credits from Piedmont Virginia Community College, he will qualify as a Department of Defense Seaman Apprentice E-2, which puts him in an advantageous career and financial place to begin his military career. Klendworth is another example of a CATEC Fire Science student who has many career pathways related to public service upon graduation. Fire Science instructor Captain Bobby Elliott says many graduates go on to serve in the military or become police officers or firefighters.
Coming from a Navy family, Klendworth is proud to be carrying on a tradition of service to our country. Captain Elliott, an Army and fire service veteran himself, says, “I am very proud of this young man. I made this trip to Beckley when I signed up for the Army. It is a special moment in your life.” Congratulations to Fire Science graduate Matthew Klendworth for his successes in CATEC and the opportunities he is seeking upon graduation from high school.