Katy man graduates from West Point

Tony Smith of Katy graduated Saturday, May 25, as the Brigade Deputy Commander and Class President of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The son of Tony and Angela Smith, he is a graduate of Cinco Ranch High School. On May 25, Smith was also commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry. The first assignment for the business management major will be Fort Carsen in Colorado.

Vice President Mike Pence served as the commencement speaker for the class of 985 cadets which West Point officials called the “most diverse ever.” According to an announcement from the academy, the class includes 10 international cadets as well as 221 women, 110 African-Americans, 79 Asian-Pacific Island, 88 Hispanics and 7 Native Americans. Of the 110 African-Americans, 32 are women, which officials said is the most for any class in academy history. The international cadets represent Bangladesh, Guyana, Malaysia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda and for the first time — the Netherlands.

“This year marks the 40th and largest class of women at 22 percent to graduate which encompasses the 5000th woman since 1980,” according to the news release. The Class of 2019 has graduates from each of the 50 states. The top five states are California at 77, Texas at 75, Florida at 63, Pennsylvania at 49 and Virginia at 49. This is West Point’s 221st graduating class and the 40th to graduate women.