From west Sussex to West Point: USMA grad gears up for Army active duty, possible boxing

BLADES — Growing up, 2024 West Point graduate Sharnae Harmon yearned for success, with a law enforcement career in her sights.

“As a little girl coming from a single-parent household, my biggest aspiration was success, to bring success to myself and my family,” she said. “The first goal in that was getting into Sussex Technical High School. I joined the criminal justice technical area … because I wanted to be a cop, at first.”

With a stepfather who had military ties, she joined Sussex Tech’s Junior ROTC, then affiliated with the U.S. Army and now part of the Coast Guard.

“I found that it would be cool,” Ms. Harmon said. “Through JROTC and criminal justice training, I found that I wanted to join the military immediately out of high school.”

And that she did, big time.

Upon obtaining her Sussex Tech diploma in 2020 — and through congressional appointments from Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons — she attended the U.S. Military Academy-West Point in New York over the next four years, graduating May 25.

Ms. Harmon is the first African American woman from Sussex County to complete studies at the institution.

Now, she has mapped out the next decade, doubling the mandatory five-year active-duty commitment.

“When I made my storyboard, it spanned out 10 years,” Ms. Harmon said. “So, I plan to do at least 10 years active duty. Then, I plan to get my master’s degree in industrial engineering. I majored in systems engineering. As of right now, with the connections I have from LinkedIn, … I will probably go work for GE Aerospace. I did an internship with them, while I was at West Point.”

And, if a career in engineering doesn’t pan out, she might have a fighting chance at another option. While in college, Ms. Harmon took to the boxing ring, earning two collegiate national championships at 119 pounds and one New England Golden Glove title in the 125-pound class.

“Originally, when I got to West Point, I wanted to run track because I did track in high school. But they weren’t allowing walk-ons who were not recruits to join the team because of COVID,” she said. “We all got put into a boxing class freshman year. It was mandatory. It was, like, if you want to go there and fight for your country, you have to at least ... face the fear of getting punched in the face.”

Her knack for the sport caught the attention of her boxing instructor, and she earned a spot on the academy’s boxing team. Opponents hailed from other military academies, as well as large schools like Penn State, the University of Washington and the University of Connecticut.

“When I turned 21, and I was at West Point, I was able to fight amateur boxers. That’s how I got my Golden Gloves national title,” Ms. Harmon said.

She may continue her boxing career when she arrives at Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood) in Texas, following a basic officers’ leaders course, beginning Aug. 4 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

“I plan on joining the boxing gym. And the Army has been trying to recruit me to box for them,” Ms. Harmon added. “So, it’s still up in the air what I might do.”

Academically, she made the dean’s list every year at West Point and received an Academic Award for Achievement in her final year, placing her in the top 15% of students.

But she hasn’t forgotten her Sussex Tech roots, especially the Pathways to Success program.

“I love them so much,” Ms. Harmon said. “I came back and gave a little speech to the current Pathways class before I graduated, around Thanksgiving time last year.”

Jacques Bowe, Tech’s Pathways to Success coordinator, is not shocked by Ms. Harmon’s success.

“Now, the world and community, they are able to capture this and see this,” he said. “But it is something that we’ve seen all along. I didn’t expect anything less than this because this is the kind of young lady that we knew and (that) I had the opportunity and privilege to kind of nurture.”

Also during high school, she was a member of the SkillsUSA crime scene investigation team, which qualified for state and national competitions, and was active in Girls State.

Along the way, she earned paralegal and 911 dispatching certificates, which would “have been very important immediately out of high school if I hadn’t planned to go to West Point,” Ms. Harmon said. “My last two years, before COVID hit, I did a worked-based learning program. I was able to work at the Georgetown Family Court.”

At the same time, in Junior ROTC, she moved up the leadership chain, serving as unit commander her senior year. She also was treasurer for the Raven Class of 2020.

Reflecting on her time at West Point, she labeled it “very challenging and structured” but gratifying, too.

“I went through a lot of challenges in my first year. It was the COVID year, and I caught COVID three times. I had to go stay in the quarantine barracks by myself three different times,” Ms. Harmon recalled.

“Over time, I made more friends. I got better at school. I got good at boxing, and I actually started to like the military. I think, when everyone gets to West Point, they don’t enjoy the military at first. You’re waking up at 5 (a.m.) and going to bed at, like, midnight every day.

“Now, looking at it, four years have passed, and I have graduated, and all these doors have opened for me because I am a West Point graduate.”

Mr. Bowe agreed with that assessment.

“Sharnae was able to weather so many storms, and now, the community and everyone else is able to see the product of her diligence and her hard work, But I am not caught by surprise that she is doing and achieving these great things,” he said. “She is unique. She is authentic. She is rare. She just has this vigor inside of her that comes once in a lifetime.”