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.