Carter graduates from Naval Academy

A Neshoba Central High School graduate is set to sail the high seas with United States Navy after his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in May.

Edwin Carter graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy.

During his time in school, Carter said he studied a variety of topics, from hard sciences like thermodynamics to computer engineering to life skills like personal responsibility and leadership.

Carter said he was interested in the Naval Academy after David Carter, his grandfather, told him about his experience in the Navy.

“I started digging into it, and the more I learned about the Naval culture, the more I thought the Naval Academy would be a good fit,” Carter said. “That really attracted me.”

After he got his first glimpse of the night sky out on the open water during his time at the academy, he knew he had made the right decision.

“When you get out far enough, you look around, and it is just you, the night sky and the water,” Carter said. “There is no light pollution. It is a wonderful view.”

Carter just finished a summer on temporary duty at the academy before reporting for fleet training at the Naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, which started late last month.

In November, he will report to the U.S.S. Mason, a destroyer based in Mayport, Fla., for his first sea duty, where he will serve as a Surface Warfare Officer. According to Carter, the SWO is one of three officers needed on the bridge of a naval vessel to properly navigate.

He said the academy has already afforded him the opportunity to visit the shores of Slovakia and Croatia, and he looks forward to a fulfilling career on the water.

Carter graduated from Neshoba Central High School in 2019 and attended the University of Mississippi for one year in the Navy ROTC program before being appointed to Annapolis for the class of 2024. 

Carter is the son of Amanda and Eric Carter, the grandson of Gerry and the late Lewis Bertrand, and David and Marlene Carter.