U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) have released their annual nominations for U.S. Military Service Academies, which this year include three local high school students, all from Soldotna High School.
Senator Murkowski’s nominations featured 39 students from Alaska, including two Soldotna Seniors Zac Buckbee and Nick Lopez. Buckbee was nominated by the senator for the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, and Lopez for the US Military Academy in West Point, NY.
Amongst Senator Sullivan’s 27 nominations, Soldotna Senior Nathan Lattin was nominated for the Air Force Academy.
“It’s a privilege to nominate these outstanding candidates from the Last Frontier to our country’s military service academies. These individuals have showcased exceptional leadership and commitment to service—and I extend each and every one of them my best wishes,” said Sen. Murkowski.
“It is a highlight of my job to nominate young Alaskans to our nation’s prestigious military service academies,” said Sen. Sullivan. “These students, from across Alaska and with diverse backgrounds, show the incredible ways our young people are involved in our communities, schools, churches, and homes. They are not only hard workers, but well-rounded, caring individuals who have a desire to serve others. My board members and I are so pleased to get to know them better and provide them this opportunity to compete to attend an academy.
U.S. Military Service Academy nominees are selected based on their academic record, extracurricular activities, and leadership capabilities.
“[These are] more examples that our kids are doing well,” said KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland via a Zoom call from Juneau during Monday night’s School Board meeting. “And when you get that nomination, that means something. So congratulations to them and just about the high school, what they’ve done.”
Though a congressional nomination to a service academy is an accomplishment within itself, it does not guarantee admission; service academies will make final decisions. The nominations allow the applicants to compete for appointments against other candidates nationwide for a spot in the entering class. Appointments are offered individually by the academies.
The United States Coast Guard Academy does not require congressional nominations.