Her mother peeled open the envelope.

The crinkling of the paper flowed through the speakerphone and reverberated through the black Yukon SUV rental, weaving around four apprehensive bodies.

Senior Kathryn McKee, her father and her two aunts listened in suspense as they idled at a gas station on the outskirts of Lake Placid, New York on Christmas Eve.

Three months earlier, McKee had applied to Congressman Bill Huizenga for a nomination to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. On the other end of the phone, her mother Beverly McKee held the answer in her hands.

It had all led up to that moment.

‘Kathryn, flourish in athletics.’

‘Kathryn, thrive in your academics.’

‘Kathryn, forge opportunities for yourself.’

It was the same tired story, parroted by the same doting parents. Those words had echoed through the halls of McKee’s home throughout her 17 years. So she dutifully followed instructions, intent on paving the way for her future.

But McKee never knew what she was working towards.

At least, not until she was in the 7th grade and family friend and Naval Academy graduate Jack Hanson recommended that she look into the Navy.

Another close friend of hers, senior Ellie Scholtz also envisions McKee’s Naval potential.

“She has always loved that type of order and discipline and it combines a lot of things that she’s interested in,” Scholtz said. “I think she would find a lot of people there that she could really connect with and those relationships could take her a long way.”

This past August, McKee gave it a shot and attended Summer Seminar, or Navy camp, at the Academy.

“I realized ‘this is what I’ve been working for,’” McKee said.

Five years after the recommendation, she and her family huddled in the car and braced themselves for what they would hear. The letter determined if she’d be able to pursue her dreams further or have to start anew.

That was when her mother began to weep.

“Once she asked me to open it, I became emotional,” Beverly said. “I finally had to hand the letter to my son, Tyler.”

Snow swirled in delicate fluctuations as her older brother took the phone and read, ‘Congratulations, you’ve been nominated for the United States Naval Academy.’

“All we did was scream,” McKee said with a grin. “We were at a gas station, we got out and we started running around. My dad hugged me and we just kind of screamed for a while.”

McKee’s great-grandfather, who she never met, retired from the Navy. Her brother is a Hospital Corpsman, or medic, in the Navy. Despite her family’s Naval history, McKee knows that she controls her choices.

“Nobody really inspired me,” McKee said. “It just grew on me and I’m the only person who’s really pushing myself to do it, not my parents.”

The nomination doesn’t guarantee acceptance to the Academy. The next step is to compete for an appointment at the school.

“The application process is very detailed. Katie also completed an interview with a panel of 10 community and military leaders,” Beverly said. “She was one of many applicants to complete the process and one of few who received a congressional appointment to the Naval Academy.”

The academy is a combination of military and academics.

“Let’s say I get in this summer, I would leave early and I would go to what’s basically the equivalent of boot camp at the Naval Academy,” McKee said.

“I’d do that all summer and then during the school year I do all my academics, but I’m still completely immersed in the military setting.”

Scholtz wishes McKee the best, and is confident in her friend’s future.

“I hope Katie absolutely kills it out there in this crazy world,” Scholtz said. “I know that she will be accepted to the Naval Academy because they would be idiots if they didn’t take her, and I know she will find something awesome that she loves to do that combines all of her numerous talents. I wish the absolute best success for her in all parts of her life.”

McKee has always tugged at the edges of her personality, pushing and pulling herself.“Mentally and physically I want to push myself to the absolute limit, and then go a little bit farther,” McKee said. “I have many goals for myself and if I can successfully push myself to the edge, and maybe go over a little bit, I believe I can achieve every one of them. There is little that can’t be accomplished with focus, drive and persistence. Even if I don’t make it into the academy, I’m still very thankful for all of the experience and opportunities this entire process has exposed me to.”