Courtesy Photo Amelia Berles of Alpena is pictured in this photo provided by the Berles family.

ALPENA ­– For the past three years, Alpena High School Senior Amelia Berles has dreamed of being accepted into a military academy.

After receiving nominations to two military academies from both U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and U.S. Representative Jack Bergman, she is one step closer to her dream coming true.

Stabenow last week nominated Berles for admission at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

It was Berles’ second nomination to the naval academy, as she was notified before Christmas that Bergman had also nominated her for both the Naval Academy as well as the U.S. Air Force Academy.

U.S. Senator Gary Peters has yet to release his nominations.

Berles said she wants to attend one of the service academies and that her top choices were the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

“This whole process has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said of applying to the four academies.

In addition to submitting an application that included essays and letters of recommendation, Berles had to qualify academically, pass a physical fitness test, participate in multiple interviews, and secure a nomination from someone authorized to do so.

But Berles said she did not always plan to go into the military. She had originally planned to pursue theater after high school but said that changed when taking lifeguard training as a sophomore.

While training to become a lifeguard, Berles said she realized how much she enjoyed working in teams, the physical training, and participating in the drills.

“I loved the feeling that I was there to protect people and to help and that it was my job to make sure everybody was safe,” she said. “I decided that I want to do that on a larger scale, which is what led me to the military.”

Although she no longer plans to pursue theater professionally, Berles has participated in more than 20 plays and has been cast in a lead role about five times. She also has a 4.05 grade-point average and has participated in varsity tennis the last four years.

Berles said she also has a plan B if she is not accepted into the military. She would then attend college and then go through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Berles has been accepted into Michigan State University and Loyola University Maryland.

Berles is the daughter of James and Kristin Berles.

Kristin Berles said she and her husband are “super proud” of their daughter, as Amelia’s decision to pursue the military initially came as a surprise to them. She said when they looked into Amelia attending a military academy they learned it was very competitive and knew it was going to be a challenge.

“She really surprised us by how hard she worked and she was very determined,” Kristin Berles said of her daughter. “She spent a lot of time in the summer studying for the SAT, doing math in the evenings, and then going to take a mile run. It was very intriguing to see her that motivated, and it’s fun to see now, all of her hard work paying off.”

Reach Crystal Nelson at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.