Local Family Tradition of Service Continues as Hunter Wilk Earns Appointment to West Point
By: Shelia Mader
For Hunter Wilk, the path to the United States Military Academy at West Point grew from curiosity into a clear calling. The Newsome High School senior, who will graduate in May, recently received an appointment to the prestigious academy and will report for Reception Day on June 29, beginning the rigorous training that marks the start of a cadet’s journey.
Wilk said his interest in West Point developed during his freshman year of high school when he joined JROTC with plans to serve in the military, though he had not yet decided which branch or role he wanted to pursue. As he became more involved in the program, he learned about the academy’s Summer Leadership Experience and applied, hoping to see the campus and determine whether the school might be a good fit.
The weeklong experience proved decisive. While there, Wilk took part in a range of military training activities, including marksmanship drills, field exercises and rappelling. The visit allowed him to see firsthand the environment and expectations cadets face at West Point. By the time he returned home, the academy had become his top choice for college.
Gaining admission to one of the nation’s service academies requires both academic achievement and a formal nomination. Wilk secured multiple nominations, including one through his congressional district and others connected to his JROTC program and family’s military service. Combined with strong grades, athletic involvement and leadership experience, the nominations helped him earn acceptance to the academy.
At Newsome High School in Lithia, east of Tampa, Wilk has built an impressive record of academic and extracurricular accomplishments. He will graduate with a weighted GPA of 6.65 and an unweighted GPA of 3.93. He is a member of the National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society and National Spanish Honor Society, and he also participates in Mock Trial.
Athletics have also played a major role in his high school career. Wilk has competed in cross-country and track and field, earning varsity letters in both sports. In cross-country, he recorded a 5K personal best of 16:27 and competed at the state championships during the 2024–2025 season, where he was recognized with the Mental Attitude Award for his work ethic and dedication.
He is also a four-year member of the JROTC Raider Team, a physically demanding competition unit that tests endurance, teamwork and problem solving through obstacle courses, rope bridge construction, ruck runs and other challenges. Wilk competed at both the state and national level and was part of the National Raider Challenge champion team in the mixed division at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in 2024.
Leadership has been another hallmark of Wilk’s high school years. Within JROTC he served as company commander, leading about 30 cadets, and later as battalion executive officer, helping coordinate activities for a program of roughly 180 students. He also served as a cadet instructor at the JROTC Cadet Leadership Camp, where he taught water survival skills and helped motivate younger cadets during training sessions.
Outside school, Wilk has logged nearly 200 volunteer hours through church and community service. His work has included helping rebuild homes through the Appalachia Service Project in Tennessee, assisting affordable housing and food pantry programs in Sanibel, and distributing food to families in need through TLC Feeding Ministries in Dover.
Service and leadership also extend to his church, where Wilk served as senior youth advisor. In that role he helped guide decisions for youth programs and organized mission trips, including an annual winter mission effort that supports food pantries, shelters and charitable groups such as Bikes for Christ.
Wilk’s future plans at West Point are still taking shape. While he has not declared a major yet, he is considering legal studies and is also interested in regional studies, which allows cadets to focus on a particular area of the world.
His acceptance continues a remarkable family tradition of military service that stretches across generations and includes deep ties to Jackson County. Wilk’s mother, Betsy, was raised in Marianna, and her father’s family has roots in the area going back three or four generations.
The family’s connection to West Point itself reaches even further back. Wilk’s maternal grandmother, Claudia Smith, notes that her grandfather, Claude Monroe McQuarrie, attended the academy after being recruited while playing college football and graduated in 1920, serving as Captain of Cadets his senior year. The tradition continued when McQuarrie’s son graduated from West Point in 1945, followed by a grandson in 1972, and later two great-grandchildren in 2006 and 2009.
Military service is also a strong part of Wilk’s paternal family history. His father, Trevor Wilk, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2024. His grandfather, Chris Wilk, also retired from the Marine Corps.
For Wilk’s family, his appointment to West Point represents both a continuation of that legacy and a new chapter. Though his last name is not McQuarrie, his grandmother says the family is proud to see another generation answering the call to serve.
Wilk is the son of Trevor and Betsy Wilk and the older brother of Chase, who is already considering following a similar path and has expressed interest in the U.S. Naval Academy.
As he prepares to graduate and head to New York this summer, Wilk said the opportunity to attend West Point is both an honor and a challenge he is ready to accept. The academy’s demanding training and education are designed to prepare the Army’s future leaders, and for Wilk, the journey is just beginning.
