Time is ticking for senior Sara Fishel.

As she wraps up her time at Brown County High School, she’s simultaneously preparing to jet across the country to start her next adventure, at one of the most prestigious military academies in the world.

Fishel is among the 10 percent of applicants to be accepted as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

She received her certificate of appointment last month. She has had a letter of assurance from West Point since August.

“That’s when it really set in,” she said about her certificate of appointment.

The letter of assurance, “that’s a conditional offer, that’s a, ‘We promise you that you’re going to get in unless you fail your medical test.’”

“It’s relieving, but it’s also scary knowing that three and a half months will be my last few days in Brown County. It’s exciting, but it’s scary — a scary kind of excitement.”

Fishel will arrive at West Point with her parents on June 29 for reporting day.

“You show up there. They line you up. Your parents are still there and they separate you. You go through all of their in processing, which is like paperwork. You get a bag, you put all of your uniforms in it, they teach you how to march,” Fishel said of the “big day.”

“Then at the end of the day, they have a parade for your family before the family leaves.”

In her blood

Serving her country is in Fishel’s blood. Her father, David, served with the United States Army and her mom, Christie, served with the U.S. Air Force. Her brother also served with the Army.

“My parents both work for the government now. I’ve kind of seen throughout my life the opportunities given to them through their military service. That’s what originally got me thinking about, you know, maybe this will provide me good opportunities in the future,” Sara said.

David and Christie are thrilled for their daughter.

“It is a huge honor. It’s such a hard achievement just to get accepted into West Point. It’s one of the top schools in the country. My wife and I both are very happy. We’re absolutely thrilled she got accepted,” David said.

David spent six years in active duty in the Army and then another six years in the reserves. During that time, he had direct contact with West Point graduates. “Every last one of them left a very good impression on me. They were very professional and very good at what they did,” he said.

David said he and his wife did not push Sara to apply for West Point. “It was her decision. We don’t ride her about doing this or doing that. She’s very driven. She’s been that way ever since she was small. … She’s the one that made it happen,” he said.

Sara thinks West Point will help develop her character in addition to providing her with an elite education and leadership opportunities.

Last summer, Sara spent a week at West Point during the Summer Leaders Experience where she met some current cadets.

“They led the whole program. That kind of really showed me the type of people I would be interacting with there, and that made that school jump out to me,” Sara said.

She also spent a week visiting the U.S. Naval Academy. “The Naval Academy was an amazing experience as well, but I think my experience at West Point really ingrained the fact that, people-wise, West Point is the place to be,” she said. “I think West Point and the Army environment fits me better personally.”

Fishel is considering studying either environmental or chemical engineering while at West Point. “You have high job prospects in civilian world,” she said.

But she is also considering enrolling in the Operations Research program.

“(It is) the use of statistics and math to figure out the probability that certain things will occur. It’s like optimizing situations and infrastructure. That’s something I’m really interested in,” Fishel said.

Upon graduation, Fishel will be a commissioned as an active duty second lieutenant in the Army. She will not know until her senior year at West Point which branch she will serve in or where she will be based for her first assignment.

She said if she decides to study engineering, she would like to serve with the Army Corps of Engineers.

BCHS Principal Matt Stark is excited for Sara and her next chapter. “In my two years that I’ve been here, Sara is in everything. She is a leader,” he said.

She is the president of student council, she takes photos for the school’s yearbook and plays softball. During her sophomore year, she competed in an international softball tournament in Taiwan. As if that weren’t enough of a thrill, she was named Most Valuable Player of her team by the Chinese Taipei Amateur Softball Association.

Sara no longer plays for a travel softball team, but she is still involved “in every club possible” at the high school.

“If something needs done, she is doing it, and she is very humble about it. She’s not out there tooting her own horn or anything,” Stark said. “I couldn’t be prouder of her.”

Sara was also named the Rotary Club of Brown County’s January Student of the Month. “It was overdue. I was surprised she was still one we could name, because I thought she had already been done,” Stark said.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled and just excited for her, excited for our school to be mentioned in that (West Point) selection process.”

Sara said she does not have much time now to do anything but school work. The free time she does have is spent fishing.

She describes herself as a “math person.” She’s in the first college-level Calculus II class the high school has ever taught. She is also enrolled in three Advanced Placement classes this year.

“She’s always been an early riser. She’s always been very different than most kids. She’s always up between 5 and 6 o’clock in the morning even when she was little,” her dad said.

“We chuckle because when Sara was very little, maybe 4, and she was up at 5 o’clock and she was tired of being in the house, we had to go wipe the dew off the swing set so she could go out and play.”

‘It will be worth it’

Sara began the application process to West Point about two years ago when she attended an informational meeting with West Point graduates and began talking with admission officers.

Sara also went to Girls State, a summer leadership and citizenship program sponsored by the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary for high school juniors. “You don’t have to go to Girls and Boys State, but it’s highly recommended,” she said.

At the weeklong Girls State, hosted at Trine University, students are broken into mock “cities” and “counties.” They run for offices and select a political party. Sara ran for a state senator seat and won.

She also received three nominations to attend West Point from U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun and U.S. Sen. Todd Young.

“I got nominations from all three. That’s not really a normal thing,” she said.

Most people who receive a letter of assurance are recruited athletes. The application window opened on Aug. 10, and Sara had her letter of assurance by Aug. 19, even before she submitted any of her essay questions.

Sara also had to get a medical and eye exams at offices she had never been to before, and take a physical fitness assessment.

“Part of it is a kneeling basketball throw. You throw a basketball as far as you can and if you don’t get it at a certain distance, you’re not applying,” she said.

“The application process itself is just daunting. There’s just so much to it. You apply, you get accepted, and then you have to fill out 10 times as much paperwork than what you did originally.”

Sara will be a cadet at West Point for four years. She said she’s not nervous about taking this next step.

“I’ve heard all about basic training. I’m afraid, but I’m also ready,” she said.

She hopes that her going to West Point will show other Brown County students that going this route is also an option for them.

“I like to give back to my community, and part of that is showing those younger than me that there are more routes. There’s another way to go about it. There’s another way to get an education. There are other ways to serve your community,” she said.

“Not only will she get a great education, but she gets a chance to serve her country as an officer,” David said.

“This is what I tell her: It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.”