Midn. 1⁄C Ryan Steenberge. U.S. Navy photo by MCSN Patrick Green.

Steenberge knew he wanted to be in the military at an early age. As early as 5th grade he told his parents he was interested in joining the military, but it wasn’t until his brother attended the Naval Academy’s Summer Seminar and told him all about it that he became interested in the Academy.

‘‘My entire high school career was focused on getting good grades and being involved in extra cirriculars and volunteering in the community – anything that I thought was important, as an officer in the military, to have and would hopefully help me get into the Academy,” said Steenberge.

He applied to the Academy twice without getting accepted, but he didn’t let that put an end to his dream. ‘‘It gave me the chance to develop myself and figure out what I really wanted in life,” said Steenberge.

Steenberge enlisted in the Marine Corps instead, but continued to apply to the Academy. He was accepted into the Naval Academy Prepatory School in Newport, R.I., and excelled academically during his year there, something he attributes to the discipline he gained while in the Marine Corps.

Now, as Brigade Commander, Steenberge wants to continue building the camaraderie that he has seen develop over his three years at the Academy.

‘‘I’ll be pressing the Brigade at large to be supportive of other Midshipmen in everything they do whether it be athletics, in the classroom and extra-curriculars they participate in, because I think it’s important to support those around us, especially since we’re such a tight family here.”

He also said that while the Midshipmen excel in everything they do, there’s always room for improvement.

‘‘I plan to focus on improving the standard...taking that one step further and really pushing them to reach the high goals that I have for them and that I know everyone in the Navy has for their incoming officers,” said Steenberge. ‘‘I’m really looking forward to seeing how the Brigade can perform with the new challenges we’ve put to them.”