Joseph Alcorn was a guest speaker at John W. Bate Middle School's Veteran's Day ceremony. He also is a 2016 Danville High School graduate.

He's back in Danville while he studies law at the University of Kentucky. He's an active duty army officer studying law to serve as a Judge Advocate General after graduation.

Alcorn attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and got a degree in philosophy. While he was there, he took a language trip to Gabon and then France.

He has completed air assault and airborne school and earned his Expert Infantry Badge. He was a platoon leader at 1-28 IN at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and then an executive officer, as well as operations officer at the Airborne School.

Alcorn shared his Danville Schools journey.

Tell us about your Danville Schools journey. What school(s) did you attend, and what’s a highlight that stands out?

I attended Toliver, Bate and then DHS. I played football as a freshman up until my senior year. I was a left guard. One highlight was probably getting lost in Red River Gorge on senior skip day. An extracurricular highlight was acting in the high school musical, "Something's Afoot," and weightlifting for football. An academic highlight is probably passing multiple AP exams.

What aspects of your Danville Schools education helped mold you into the person you are today?

The resources made available to me, and the teachers, coaches and counselors who poured so much time and effort into my success. They taught me that the opportunities to succeed are there and presented to all of us, but it’s ultimately up to us as students to put mutual effort into our own success. Something along the lines of “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force it to drink.” There were a lot of times I was tempted not to take the help or take school seriously, but the aforementioned parties caring about me personally was the push I needed. 

Are there specific instances/relationships that stand out to you as having an impact on your success since graduating?

I ascribe the lion's share of impact from mentors like Coach Vaughn Little. Coach Little was (and is) a legend to a lot of us growing up in Danville Schools. We'd see this great big man on the sidelines at high school games growing up and could hear him perfectly from the stands. If we didn't see him at the games, he was always behind the grill at community events. He knew every student and was always a source of encouragement.

I had quit playing football after middle school, and he approached me and convinced me to play freshman football. The butterfly effect was evident in me playing freshman football, then getting fit and active, and then being in shape enough to pass the physical fitness test to go to West Point. 

Coach Little helped me with my application, my essays, my congressional nomination, and in my personal life. 

Other people I can point to and say with confidence that they helped get me to where I am today were certainly Coach Clay Clevenger, Coach Ernest Dunn, Mrs. Mona MacCormack, Mr. Jeff Gulle, and Mr. Rob Kremer. 

I also want to say that my friends and family were a huge impact on my success. Being surrounded by and choosing to spend time with classmates who wanted to succeed or learn how to be better (academically and in sports) had a direct causal relationship with my own drive to succeed.  

What advice would you give to a parent who was choosing an education path for their child?

I'll have to make this choice soon enough for my boys, but I'd say wherever offers your child the classes, sports and extracurriculars that your child is genuinely interested in and will also challenge them.

I got in a lot of trouble in school before I started taking advanced classes, and I think it was because I was bored with the material. Of course, many kids do not want to learn algebra or calculus (and if they do, then that's great), but if they're going to be in school regardless, I found in my own personal experience that when the content was challenging and I was mentally stimulated, I had less time to goof off. If I knew the answer before the teacher finished the question, I wouldn't pay attention and would focus on how to make my buddies laugh. I never stopped goofing off (I believe I was voted the class clown multiple years), but I was much more focused on schoolwork in my advanced classes.

As a product of Danville Schools, what drives you to give back to your local school and/or district?

The same reason I joined the military — I owe a debt to the schools for getting me to where I am today. Beyond that, I want to show the students of Danville that they truly can achieve great things and that their background, situation or circumstance does not define them or limit their ability to succeed — their own agency and sense of purpose does.

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This piece is part of an ongoing series telling the stories of our Danville Alumni! We share a new alumni story once a month, and we want YOUR story. If you or someone you know is a Danville graduate and an excellent representative of the Danville community and the idea of #SuccessForALL, whether they live in Danville or not, please fill out the form linked below. You can also show your Danville Alumni pride on social media with the hashtag #DanvilleAlumniStories

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