Insights from Alumnus Dr. Wade Licup ’10
When Dr. Wade Licup walked back onto the Army and Navy Academy campus recently, he wasn’t just returning as an alumnus; he was returning as the kind of man many of our cadets hope to become.
A 2010 graduate and now a physician at Scripps Health, Dr. Licup had just finished speaking to the Corps of Cadets when he sat down with Academy President Barry Shreiar for an episode of the Army and Navy Academy podcast. Their conversation traced Wade’s journey from cadet to doctor, and how the Academy’s core values, honor, courage, and compassion, quietly shaped every step along the way.
For prospective and current families, his story offers a window into the culture of Army and Navy Academy: how a structured, boy-centered environment, grounded in virtue and mentorship, can help boys grow into high-integrity men who lead and serve.
This blog distills key themes and practical takeaways from their conversation.
The Foundation: Honor, Courage, and Compassion
Dr. Licup’s story reflects what we mean when we talk about “forging virtuous young men for life.” At ANA, values like honor, courage, and compassion are not slogans; they’re built into daily routines, relationships with mentors, and the expectations boys learn to hold for themselves.
As Wade shared with the Corps, those values became his internal compass guiding him through college, medical school, intense hospital rotations, and even the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key takeaway: The values boys internalize during their formative years become the reference point they return to in moments of crisis, challenge, and opportunity.
Tip 1: Living with Honor – Doing the Right Thing, Even When It’s Hard
Honor can sound abstract, but for Wade, it became very real one day as a third-year cadet.
He told the Corps about a time he left campus without permission and had to face the consequences. The experience wasn’t about punishment; it was about integrity. ANA’s response made it clear that doing the right thing matters, whether or not anyone is watching.
That lesson followed him into college and medicine. In a hospital setting where patients’ lives, privacy, and trust are at stake, honor looks like telling the truth, double-checking the chart, and speaking up when something doesn’t seem right.
Actionable Advice for Students:
- Pause before you act. Ask yourself, “If no one ever found out, would I still feel good about this choice?”
- Own your mistakes. Growth doesn’t happen when we hide; it happens when we step up, take responsibility, and learn.
- Be the reliable one. Your peers, teachers, and teammates notice who tells the truth, follows through, and can be counted on.
Expert insight: Honor is like a muscle. The more you practice integrity in small moments, the more naturally it guides you in high-stakes situations.
Tip 2: Practicing Courage – Showing Up When It Matters Most
Courage at a military academy can look like stepping into a leadership role, accepting a tough assignment, or speaking in front of your peers. For Dr. Licup, courage took on a new form during his medical training in the early days of COVID-19.
He shared the anxiety and uncertainty of walking into hospitals when so much was still unknown. Yet, what he remembered from ANA was simple: you show up for your team.
Even when he felt fear, he focused on contributing in any way he could, refining workflows, helping colleagues, and caring for patients who needed someone calm and present.
Actionable Advice for Students:
- Redefine courage. Courage doesn’t mean you’re never afraid; it means you act with your values even when you’re afraid.
- Trust your training. Whether it’s drill, academics, or athletics, repetition builds confidence. In crisis moments, you fall back on your level of preparation.
- Take the next right step. You don’t have to know all the answers. Start by doing what you can, where you are.
Expert insight: Courage is built in everyday challenges that include tough workouts, hard classes, and leadership responsibilities, so that when major tests come, you’ve already rehearsed how to respond.
Tip 3: Leading with Compassion – Service Beyond Self
Compassion was a thread that ran through Wade’s cadet years and continues to define his work as a physician.
He shared a story from a medical mission in the Philippines, where he treated patients in underserved communities. The experience reminded him of something ANA had already been teaching him: leadership is inseparable from service.
From volunteering to supporting a struggling teammate to taking time to listen to a patient’s fears, compassion is what turns skill into service.
Actionable Advice for Students:
- Seek service, don’t wait for it. Join projects, drives, or community efforts that stretch your comfort zone and expose you to different perspectives.
- Listen first. Whether it’s a roommate, teammate, or classmate, compassion begins with listening to understand, not just to respond.
- Think long-term. Meaningful service often involves months of preparation and follow-through. Stick with it when it gets hard.
Expert insight: Compassion isn’t just a feeling; it’s a decision to act on someone else’s behalf even when it costs you time, energy, or comfort.
Tip 4: Building Discipline – The Power of Daily Routines
In the podcast, President Shreiar and Dr. Licup talked about the role of discipline at ANA in formations, room inspections, physical training, uniform standards, and how those structures can feel demanding in the moment but become powerful assets later.
For Wade, those early mornings and tight expectations translated into the ability to manage long study blocks in college, grueling shifts in medical school, and the self-control required in hospital settings where small errors can have big consequences.
Actionable Advice for Students:
- Start small and stay consistent. Make your bed, show up on time, and map out your study hours. Small habits create big results over time.
- Track your commitments. Use a planner, app, or notebook to monitor your routines and celebrate progress.
- Remember the “why.” Discipline isn’t about perfection; it’s about becoming the kind of person others can depend on.
Expert insight: Discipline is the engine that makes your values actionable. Without it, even the best intentions stay theoretical.
Tip 5: Embracing Uncertainty – Finding Your Path Through Persistence
Many cadets and their parents wonder what the future will look like. Will he find his passion? Will he be ready for college? For life?
Wade was honest with the Corps: he didn’t always know he wanted to be a doctor. His path emerged over time, shaped by curious teachers, rigorous science classes, and mentors who saw potential in him before he fully saw it in himself.
Army and Navy Academy’s boy-centered approach, rooted in brain-based research about how boys learn, gave him space to explore, fail, try again, and build confidence step by step.
Actionable Advice for Students:
- Try different things. New classes, clubs, sports, and leadership roles can reveal strengths you didn’t know you had.
- Ask for guidance. Teachers, TAC officers, coaches, and older cadets can offer perspectives you can’t get alone.
- Keep moving forward. Uncertainty is normal. What matters is continuing to take the next step, even when the destination isn’t perfectly clear.
Expert insight: Your interests and strengths will evolve. Persistence, showing up, working hard, and staying curious, is what helps you discover your path.
Tip 6: The Value of Mentorship and Community
Both President Shreiar and Dr. Licup highlighted a defining feature of ANA: no boy walks this journey alone.
Wade talked about teachers who believed in him, peers who held him accountable, and the brotherhood that continues to this day. That community didn’t end at graduation; today, he’s the one returning to speak, mentor, and encourage the next generation.
For families, this is the culture in action: older Warriors returning to guide younger ones, demonstrating what it looks like when the Academy’s core values take root.
Actionable Advice for Students:
- Find your circle. Surround yourself with classmates who share your commitment to growth and integrity.
- Be the mentor you wish you had. As you gain experience, look for ways to support younger cadets.
- Stay connected. Alumni networks, faculty relationships, and ANA traditions create a lifelong support system.
Expert insight: Mentorship works both ways. Mentors are inspired by those they help, and mentees gain a model for the kind of leader they can become.
Conclusion: Small Actions, Lasting Impact
Dr. Wade Licup’s journey is not a story of one defining moment, but of thousands of small choices made over time: showing up, telling the truth, helping a patient, studying one more hour, listening to a friend, returning to speak to the Corps.
For families, his path offers reassurance: when boys grow up in an environment that prioritizes virtue, structure, and boy-centered education, they carry those habits and values into every chapter of their lives.
Final Takeaways for Cadets and Families:
- Show up, even when it’s hard.
- Do the right thing, even when no one is watching.
- Serve others, even when it requires sacrifice.
- Build discipline through daily routines.
- Embrace uncertainty and keep going.
- Invest in your community and be ready to give back.
These are the traits that define Warriors long after they leave campus. They’re also the traits the world needs from the next generation of young men.
If you’re a parent, educator, or student wondering what a boy-centered, military academy education can do, Dr. Licup’s story is one powerful answer: honor, courage, and compassion learned here become a way of life out there.
To hear more of Dr. Licup’s reflections and the full conversation with President Shreiar, be sure to listen to this episode of the Army and Navy Academy podcast.
Podcast Episode Link