There are many students that attend Susquehannock High School that have high aspirations; however, junior Yulia Houseal has an incredibly high goal that she firmly intends to reach.  Houseal has worked incredibly hard for her entire high school career in order to accomplish her dream of being accepted into the United States Naval Academy. 

“I have always had an interest in serving in the armed forces, and I know that the Naval Academy can help me serve my country as well as giving me a really good education and many opportunities outside of college,” said Houseal.

Houseal’s strong ambition is shared by her boyfriend sophomore Sam Odegaard. He also wishes to be accepted into the Naval Academy and is incredibly proud of how hard Houseal has worked in order to get what she wants.

“She works really hard. She always gets her work done on time, and she never misses school for any reason, unless she is very sick. She takes almost all honors classes and has straight A’s in all of them. She also does a lot of outside activities, a lot of community service, such as volunteering at soup kitchens and clothing drives,” said Odegaard.

One of Houseal’s close friends, junior Hailee Yeager, is extremely proud of her friend and is amazed by what Houseal will be expected to do if she gets accepted.

“Yulia really deserves to get accepted. She has worked so hard for this, and it is all she has ever wanted. I just think it’s scary how she will be cut off from her friends and family for the first 6 weeks of her time there because freshmen are denied all access to electronics and are not allowed visitors during the beginning of their stay,” said Yeager.

Houseal continues to work hard in and out of school in order to accomplish her goal of being accepted into the esteemed Naval Academy and looks forward to the challenges she will face to get there.