OTSELIC – The path to success doesn’t come as a straight line.
That was the takeaway for Otselic Valley Central School students after guest speaker David Gale, Rear Admiral for the United States Navy, took the podium at a school assembly on Friday.
Gale, a native of the nearby Town of Lebanon and alumnus of Sherburne-Earlville Central School, was invited by the OV chapter of the Future Farmers of America to speak to students in grades 7-12 about his service in the Navy and the hard work and dedication it takes to achieve success.
“The road to anywhere you want to go, just like the road to where I got today, is not a straight line,” Gale told students during his speech. “But remember, that path may have some barriers in it and if there are any barriers in it, it’s in you.”
Gale is presently assigned as Program Executive Officer (PEO) of ships, where he is responsible for Navy shipbuilding for surface combatants, amphibious ships, logistics support ships, support craft, and related foreign military sales. He is currently overseeing 17 ships under construction and an additional 24 ships and craft that are under contract.
As a 38-year Navy veteran, Gale worked his way up the ranks and served in various capacities. After selection to Flag rank in April, 2010, he assumed duties as commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Command, where he oversaw the operations and management of the Navy’s Regional Maintenance Centers in their work of surface ship maintenance and modernization. In 2013, he became the deputy commander for surface warfare, Naval Sea Systems Command.
Along the way, Gale earned a bachelor of the arts degree in economics from the University of New Mexico, and a master’s degree in national resources strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, paid for by the U.S. Navy.
Gale’s message to students reflected the idea that hard work, whether in the Navy or anyplace else life leads, will bring success.
“Success is defined in a million different ways,” he added. “My success may not be your success. It’s really what you would define it to be given what it is that you want to achieve.”
“This was a great presentation from a career path point of view,” said OV Superintendent Dan Henner. “A career path is sometimes something kids don't understand. Kids see someone, like myself, and think that maybe I went to college and became a principal but the truth of the matter is I was a coach and a teacher first ... (Gale), in a similar way, talked about his career path of working his way up through the different ranks of the military.”
Henner said the hope is that students will understand that there are many stepping stones on the way to a larger goal.
“They are students now, just like (Gale) use to be a student,” Henner added. “Hopefully they can make the connection. We want them to see that the end of a career path doesn’t happen all at once.”