By Kathi Stearns, Staff Writer

THOMASTON--When 2nd Lt. Michael T. Lambert graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., this May, he accepted a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps. His orders read, “Pursue the Olympic rowing team.”

“I was asked by my commanding officer to accept the mission,” said Lambert, a parishioner of St. John the Baptist Mission. “I said, ‘Yes sir’ and am doing everything I can to meet the challenge.”

He has spent the summer training in Princeton, NJ, and has been named to the 1995 U.S. Rowing Team. Lambert, a sweep rower, will travel to Finland as an alternate for the World Games Aug. 12. Lambert and his rowing partner missed qualifying for the World Games by one second.

“I’m not so sure that it was such a bad thing,” he said. “I’m of the school of thought that God has a plan for all of us, and I have a lot of faith in Him. I have received a lot of consolation from this belief. Sometimes that is just how the cookie crumbles. This experience has taught me that I’ve got to keep on top of my training and keep focused on my goals.”

In October he is scheduled to travel to San Diego, Calif., the site of the U.S. men’s heavyweight sweep training center, for concentrated practice sessions.

“I am hopeful that this journey will take me to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta,” he said. “Everything I am doing now is directed toward the goal that I have established for myself and the challenge that my country has set for me.”

Every morning he awakes at 8 a.m. and rows from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. He then eats his first meal of the day and takes a nap, returning to the water from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. “When I’m not rowing, I sleep and shower a lot,” he laughed.

For Lambert to make the team he will have to compete against men who have more rowing experience than he does. The summer before his freshman year at the Naval Academy, Navy plebe crew coach, Ken Dreyfull, asked Lambert to try out for the plebe crew mainly because he had the physical dimensions and athletic background of a typical Navy oarsman.

“Basically the coach saw a list generated by the admission department that said I was 6 feet 3 inches tall and 195 lbs. It also noted that I had played high school football,” he said. “About 90 of us were invited to try our for the freshman team; of those only 10 graduated.”

Lambert’s years at the Naval Academy proved to be an exceptional life experience. “I absolutely loved it,” he said. “I would not trade the experience of going to the Naval Academy for the world. It is really tough and challenging, but it made me prioritize everything.”

While at academy he made his spiritual development his number one priority. “I went to Mass daily and allowed my faith to sustain me throughout my four years at the academy,” Lambert said. “At times it was the only thing that kept me going. My faith gives me a perspective on getting worked up about a lot of things in my life.”

In his junior year he was erroneously charged with numerous offenses two days before exams that could have resulted in his expulsion from the academy. “Nothing like this had ever happened to me before,” he said. “I turned it over to God and said, ‘Lord, I have no idea of how to fix this or how to show the truth of the matter.’”

Going into his exams Lambert had a 3.5 average, but was unable to study because of the disciplinary proceedings and the paperwork which he had to fill out to defend himself. “I may have cracked a book for an hour, but that was it,” he said. He finished that semester with a 4.0 average, but I had nothing to with it; God did. That was one of the first time I completely surrendered myself to God even though I wanted to be in control of everything. And look at the results.”

When Lambert graduated in May he earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics with honors. Graduating 29th in his class of 895 midshipmen, Lambert was selected one of 20 distinguished midshipmen graduates by Secretary of the Navy John Dalton. He also received the Fleet Reserve Association Prize for outstanding leadership as first regimental commander. He received the Russell S. Callow Memorial Crew Award for being the squad member who contributed most to the development of the crew’s determination, competitive desire and willingness to sacrifice while captain of the Navy crew squad during his senior year. Finally, he was recognized during the baccalaureate ceremony for his service to the Naval Academy as a eucharistic minister. He has since been appointed a lay reader in the U.S. Marine Corps.