Veritas Prep Senior’s Journey to Serve and Lead

Meet Aubrey Klain, a senior at Veritas Prep with big dreams and a heart for serving her country. She had a tough decision to make when she received appointments to not one, but two, of the United States’ top military schools, the United States Military Academy at West Point and the United States Naval Academy.

Klain ultimately chose the U.S. Naval Academy because she wants to study political science there. She’s set to start basic training in June and then begin her first year of college in August. Her goal is to become a Jag for the U.S. Navy, which means she wants to work as a military lawyer.

“Veritas has made me more comfortable with both speaking and thinking critically, which helped in interviews, essays, and really every aspect of the college process,” she said. Klain added that her favorite subject is Calculus because she likes how it is grounded in clear rules. Sounds like a good lawyer already.

Sarah Marbach, the college counselor at Veritas Prep, shared that Klain has been involved in Veritas Mock Trial since her freshman year, winning several state and national competitions. She is a co-founder of Veritas’ Greats Heart Great Hands community service organization, performed in the Veritas Chorale, attended the Arizona Girls State, a week-long mock government experience, and served on the board for the Governor’s Youth Commission.

“Aubrey is the type of team leader to put others’ needs above her own,” said Marbach. “For example, last year when new members joined the Mock Trial program, Aubrey set up Zoom meetings to teach them about the intricacies of Mock Trial even though she had her own material to work on. She also took the initiative to create an entire Google Drive full of tryout materials to help prospective members prepare. Before, there was no one-stop-shop for new members to reference until Aubrey created one.”

In 11th grade, Klain was chosen to represent Veritas at the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Foundation (HOBY) Leadership Seminar held in Phoenix each summer. While there, she was selected as a planning committee member where she was responsible for communicating to local school administrations about upcoming events and leadership seminars.

Outside of her academic and civic activities, Klain has demonstrated her love for serving her community and those in need. During the lockdown of COVID, she organized a group of friends and her family to collect and distribute water to the downtown Phoenix homeless encampment zone. She had been doing this with her father for several years, but realized there was a growing need for assistance and enlisted others to help.

She has a love for learning and a curiosity that keeps her learning how she can better serve others around her. According to Marbach, she is one of Veritas Prep’s top students both in and out of the classroom. “She has a strong desire to serve our nation and I have no doubt that she will be a successful midshipman at USNA.”

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