Chester Native Graduates Naval Academy, Off to Oxford

Kirsten Asdal, daughter of Bill and Marcia Asdal of Chester, graduated with a major in Chinese from the United States Naval Academy on May 24 and received her commission as a naval officer, earning the rank of Ensign.

Asdal was also honored with a Fulbright scholarship to continue her Chinese studies in Taiwan beginning in the fall of 2013, as well as the US Naval Academy's Fitzgerald Scholarship to earn a master’s degree in Chinese Studies at Oxford University in England beginning in fall 2014. 

Asdal also received a US Department of State Critical Language scholarship and will spend seven weeks this summer in intensive language study in Suzhou, China.

After completing her degree, Asdal will join her ship, the guided missile destroyer DDG112 USS Michael Murphy, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii as a Surface Warfare Officer.

She is a 2009 graduate of Mendham High School.