SHS senior sets sights on service

SANDPOINT — Like other Sandpoint High School seniors, Lily Richardson will be selecting her next step in the education world come May, but unlike her classmates, she has an unconventional set of options to choose from.

Following a grueling application process to three U.S. military academies, Richardson was informed that she was accepted to all three, two of which required nominations from U.S. representatives and senators — of which she received multiple.

Now, Richardson has new possibilities open to her with acceptances to the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy, among the other schools to which she has applied.

Jeralyn Mire, post-secondary transition counselor at SHS, said this is the first time she has seen this happen. 

“She didn’t require a lot of hand holding,” Mire said. “She did this very much independently. It's such a neat honor, I mean, that’s like a student getting accepted to Stanford, MIT and Harvard — it’s bigger than that.” 

Throughout the past year, Richardson said she has been busy completing all the necessary application steps.

“Nomination applications include multiple essays, transcripts, letters of recommendations, and an interview through the process,” Richardson said. “To be accepted, the applications also require a medical evaluation.”

Applicants also take a physical fitness test. For the Air Force and Naval academies, the test consists of the mile, pull-ups, shuttle runs, basketball throws, and push-ups. Each element is worth 100 points out of a possible 500, she said. While a specific score isn't required, officials factor in an applicant’s athletic performance when making decisions. Students also must reach a certain standard when they arrive for their first day of school, she said.

“It is not an easy process,” Mire said. “This young lady can attest to that. It really speaks highly to the caliber of student and person Lily is, because it’s very important [to the academies] to have a strong, well-rounded person.”

Richardson plans on majoring in mechanical engineering, and has a significant interest in aerospace. She has worked on projects with her dad since she was young, which has helped forge her path. 

“I drive an old ‘81 Ford Bronco and we rebuilt the entire thing,” she said. “We’ve had quads and boats and random things that we fix. I’ve been around it so long that I’ve grown to love it.”

Her interest in airplane structures began with an aerospace class offered at SHS that introduced students to ground-school aviation concepts. 

“I took it last year, because I thought ‘might as well try’ because I didn’t have a lot of other classes to take,” she said. “I actually ended up loving it. [The instructor] had a million different speakers come in from all different sides of aviation and it made me realize that the people who were the mechanics  — they absolutely loved what they did because it changed every day.” 

Richardson took part in an internship program at SHS to help her take future steps with more certainty. During her internships at Z-Aero LLC and Granite Aviation, she worked on 3-D printing for different prototypes, and calibrations and learned about testing and designing plane structures among other things. 

“Thanks to the incredible program at SHS that allows students to work in their desired field in internships, I discovered a love of building things with my hands and all things aerospace,” she said. “I am definitely keeping my options open with regard to any hands-on opportunities or specific career decisions and waiting to see where God leads me on my journey.”

She was able to visit the academy campuses, as well as other universities she has been accepted to over the past year. At the Air Force and Navy campuses, she participated in a summer seminars group, which provided five days to a week of the college experience. 

“The Navy was much more about what it’s going to be like your first year, so we did PT training bright and early in the morning, we had obstacle course stuff, we went to classes, and things like that,” Richardson said. 

Each campus and academy differed slightly from the others, with each having a different appeal. 

“The Air Force really appeals to me because of the aerospace background, but the Navy also has a lot of aerospace,” Richardson said. The Coast Guard really appeals to me because of the size of it — I love basketball and they’re a D2 school, so it would be way more likely that I could play basketball on their team. The technology I saw at the Navy and Air Force was just amazing — all the resources and things that they teach you.”

While the Navy had big pools for boat testing, the Air Force had wind tunnels to test wings and fuselages, she said. 

Richardson said the academies have a special appeal for her because of their organization, service aspect, additional challenges students face, and the type of student that attends. 

“I think [the student body] was also a huge part of my drive to apply,” Richardson said. “I’ve taken a bunch of AP classes and I love them so much more, not because it’s harder, but because the people you have in the classes are way more dedicated to academics so it’s fun to have those conversations with people who care about it. I knew I was going to have that at the academies. Then actually being there with other kids who applied, it was like ‘yes, these are exactly the type of people who I thought were going to be here,’ — it’s super cool to be in those types of classrooms.”

She also said the structure present at a military academy campus is appealing to her. Mire described the academies' organization as more similar to high school than college. 

“At the academy, everybody eats at the same time together, and it’s smaller,” Richardson said. “Even though the Air Force is Division 1, I don’t know exactly how many people there are, but it’s a pretty small student body, which I actually found pretty neat.”

Now, armed with this information, and acceptances from multiple other universities, Richardson is faced with a final choice. 

“The only reason I haven’t accepted where I’m going yet is because I got a full ride scholarship to Texas A&M Commerce, so I’m going to go look at that through their honors college.”

In her last 12 years of school, Richardson said she has learned that few valuable things can be accomplished alone.

“The efforts of multiple people using their skills for the same end will almost always result in a superior product than any one person can accomplish individually,” she said. “It is because of the opportunities that I had and people who worked with me and on my behalf, that I was able to receive my nominations and appointments. The nomination process has been grueling.”

She said she couldn’t have made it this far without a community full of people who have offered support, encouragement, and direction. She thanked her teachers at SHS who went above and beyond what was required to help her succeed.

“My counselor, Jeralyn Mire, helped me meet deadlines, solve problems, and make important contacts,” she said. “My cross country and basketball coaches have given me countless hours of their attention and helped me evolve my teamwork skills, leadership, and perseverance. Ken Larson opened my eyes to aviation, Mr. [Jacob] Stark showed me how to use my hands to weld and build amazing creations, Mr. [Mike] Martz and Mr. [Troy] Minogue advanced my love of math and sciences, as well as everyone at Granite Aviation and Z-Aero who have helped me get hands-on experience and solidify my love of all things Aerospace. Without all of these people, and more, I would not have these incredible opportunities. Thank you to all of the people in our community who offer themselves in ways that often go unrecognized. Seemingly little contributions add up to make incredible differences.”

    Richardson with other students visiting the U.S. Naval Academy during their summer seminar groups.