CARRABASSETT VALLEY — For the first time in the history of Carrabassett Valley Academy, twin brothers are the salutatorian and valedictorian.

At graduation on June 4, Eagle Scouts Patrick and Christian Beauregard of Wyman Township will deliver their respective welcome and farewell speeches.

Both said they don’t really know their grade-point averages. The academy doesn’t publicly release them either.

“I just know that he’s No. 1, and I’m No. 2,” Patrick Beauregard said on Saturday morning at the school.

A few weeks after graduation, both 17-year-olds will do what they said they’ve honed themselves to do since childhood through the Boy Scouts — serve their country.

Patrick was accepted at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., where he wants to learn to become an Army combat arms officer.

Christian was accepted at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. He wants to become a fighter pilot.

“The serving-your-country piece really is one of the bigger reasons behind what drove us to the (military service) academies, because if you want to serve your country, there’s really no better way to do it,” Christian Beauregard said.

To get accepted at both academies, they had to be nominated by a member of Congress, so both applied to Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and Rep. Michael Michaud.

They also spent 200 hours each on rigorous applications.

Christian said Snowe helped get him into the Air Force Academy, while Patrick was helped by Michaud, who on Friday spoke highly of the boys’ inherent “sound judgment, decisiveness and moral courage.”

The twins attributed learning those qualities to their parents — Vermont natives Jeff Beauregard, a U.S. Border Patrol supervisory agent at Rangeley, and Ragan Beauregard, who teaches French at CVA — and their CVA instructors and alpine ski team coaches.

Additionally, last summer, Christian worked painting houses, sanding porches and mowing lawns, while Patrick was hired as a summer camp counselor and sailboat and canoeing instructor in southern Maine.

“The people had high expectations for me, and I felt very well prepared to tackle my responsibilities, because of what I learned from my coaches and from just being self reliant,” Patrick said.

“As challenging as it is, it’s very hard to fail, because your teachers here are 100 percent supportive all the time and we have fantastic coaches.”

Additionally, being twins has its advantages.

“It’s nice to have a study partner,” Patrick said.

“And there’s always plenty of competition,” Christian added.

As for their military bent, that started young.

“He always had this idea of like a military lifestyle,” Christian said of his brother, “and for me it was more of a spur-of-the-moment decision, and he actually put the idea in my head.”

“It pretty much just came together from there,” Patrick said. “I mean, I was always that little kid at 5 years old that played with GI Joes and the little green Army men.”

Christian said he played with the same toys.

“Being brothers, we were always running around the woods with camo on and like playing war and stuff and that was always fun, but I’ve never wanted to be like infantry, which is what he wants to do,” Christian said.

As a CVA sophomore, Patrick said he bought David Lipsky’s book, “Absolutely American,” read it, loved it and decided right then he wanted to attend West Point.

He gave the book to his brother, who read it twice and chose the Air Force.

Although both have a grandfather who served in the Navy, they said it was their uncle, Ret. Airborne Ranger Maj. Dirk Ringgenberg of Missouri, who ultimately convinced them to join the military.

For his actions on June 21, 2005, during Operation Enduring Freedom while leading one of his platoons during a seven-hour firefight in Afghanistan — while under heavy fire from rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons and significantly outnumbered — Ringgenberg was awarded the U.S. Silver Cross for gallantry in action in destroying Taliban leadership that had terrorized the local populace for months.

In wanting to serve their country, the twins spoke highly of their uncle’s leadership and values, which they said they’ve learned at CVA.

Additionally, both military academies have ski teams, so they can further their athletic abilities.

“I was surprised West Point has a ski hill on campus with a lift, and we could probably set a (giant slalom) course on it,” Patrick said.

“And the skiing in Colorado is actually outstanding,” Christian said. “The academy encourages being on the Ski Club team just because it encourages you to get off campus, which really boosts your morale.”

With all this advance planning under their belts, have they got their valedictorian and salutatorian speeches completed yet? Nope.

As always, homework comes first, and that means concentrating on finishing their multiple-page senior papers.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Wyman Township twins Patrick and Christian Beauregard credited Maine’s Congressional delegation with helping them get accepted into military academies to further their education and careers.

By email on Friday, Rep. Michael Michaud spoke highly of the Carrabassett Valley Academy seniors who will graduate on June 4 as salutatorian and valedictorian.

“I am proud that Maine is able to send our best and our brightest young men and women to serve as officers and leaders in today’s military,” Michaud wrote.

“Patrick and Christian were nominated and appointed based on their academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and community involvement.”

The twins are nationally ranked as Junior 2 alpine skiers, and both help with Special Olympics Maine and other community service-oriented organizations.

“But some of the most important factors in determining which young men and women attend our nation’s service academies cannot be measured in grade-point averages, points scored, or hours spent volunteering,” he said.

“The military needs leaders with sound judgment, decisiveness, and moral courage.” 

Patrick Beauregard was accepted into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.; Christian Beauregard was accepted into the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.

“I believe that Patrick and Christian display these qualities in an exemplary manner, and I am proud that they will be using these strengths to lead our country’s troops and defend our way of life,” Michaud said.

On Thursday morning, Michaud will meet with the twins at CVA and speak at an assembly.

“The Congressman nominated them and was thrilled to hear that they got in and have accepted the appointments,” Ed Gilman, Michaud’s spokesman, said by email in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

“I know he’s looking forward to congratulating them at the school assembly next week in person.”

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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