Securing appointment to a United States Federal Service Academy is a rigorous process of academics, physical fitness, applications and congressional nominations.

Few students across the country are given the honor of attending one of the five academies, but this year, two Kootenai High School students — from a graduating class of 15 — received appointments, as did two friends from Lake City High School and a Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy senior.

Because Kootenai High is such a small school located 7 miles south of Harrison, Grace McInturff said it is unusual for two students to be accepted into academies. McInturff is excited to be one of those students.

"The two of us that applied and wanted to go to these schools, we spent our whole high school careers getting good grades and participating in sports and extra-curriculars, just making sure we were well-rounded in the kind of things the academies would want," McInturff said. "And I think all our hard work and help from our school has paid off."

McInturff said growing up she always wanted to work in an area that involved animals and cleaning up the environment, so when she learned the United States Coast Guard had a specific department in that area, she was "sold." She plans to major in marine and environmental science at the academy.

The Coast Guard Academy is located in New London, Conn. where McInturff will spend the next four years as the graduating class of 2020. The smallest of the five academies, last year the Coast Guard Academy offered appointments to less than 400 of the nearly 2,000 applicants, and only 291 cadets were sworn in for the class of 2019.

"It is definitely really competitive to get into any of them," McInturff said.

She said the application process is a long and intensive one. Each of the five students started their applications in their junior year. The Coast Guard Academy is the only academy that does not require the added process of a congressional nomination to be considered for an appointment.

McInturff's classmate, Jesse Whipple, is going to the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. Whipple not only received congressional nominations from Idaho's U.S. senators and house representative, he also received a presidential nomination because his dad served in the military for 20 years. He said the nominations help the academy narrow down the list of applicants. Whipple found out in February, about a month before the official announcement by the academy, that he was offered an appointment.

Whipple said he specifically began looking toward West Point in the beginning of his junior year, but his goal of becoming an officer in the military goes back to eighth grade when he started thinking about joining ROTC.

In June, 2015, Whipple traveled to West Point to attend a seminar at the academy and said the campus was "awesome."

"It blew my expectations away — it was beautiful," Whipple said. "There was so much history and art ... as I was on the bus leaving I was like 'wow, I have to come back here.' Just seeing it really motivated me to give it my all for applying."

Cameron Cates is another student who got to see the academy campus where she will spend the next four years. Cates and Erin Hague have been friends since they were freshmen at Lake City High School, and will continue on as they both make their way to Colorado Springs and the United States Air Force Academy.

"It's amazing," Cates said about the campus. "Their athletic facilities are crazy — they are so impressive. It is just a really neat environment because the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs is right next to it, and the lunchroom is all windows and it overlooks a big canyon. It's just really pretty."

Both Cates and Hague are in the top five percent of their graduating class, but academics are just one consideration for enrollment in any of the academies. Hague said the application process can be broken down into physical, character and medical — and a 127-page security clearance packet that must be completed in one sitting.

Hague was disappointed when she originally received a letter stating that she would not be offered the appointment. But last month she got the good news, and assumes it was a paperwork error that caused the mixup.

Hague said she has been interested in going to an academy since middle school, when the son of a family friend was going through the process to become an astronaut. Her interest in the Air Force stemmed from her grandfather, who died about two months ago. She said he was a major general and commander of the Washington Air National Guard at Fairchild Air Force Base.

"I have grown up hearing stories about Air Force life from my grandpa, so that's how I made the connection between the Air Force and the academy," she said. "He had a very successful career, so it was cool to see it from that point of view."

Cates said she too has been interested in academy life for several years, but it was their junior year when Hague was talking about the Air Force that Cates realized it would be a "good fit" for her as well.

"It was a good opportunity for me to go out and help people while being able to get a really great education and being able to serve my country," Cates said.

Hague would like to become a pilot, but said it is a "whole other process" for that career, so engineering is her backup. Cates joked that she would become Hague's navigator, but is seriously pursuing a career in physical therapy to work with injured veterans and injured soldiers.

After four years of school, there is a minimum time commitment of five years in the Air Force. Both girls look forward to the two-month paid leave after graduation where they can travel anywhere in the world.

Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy senior Robert Gaines said he will travel the world by sea for a year during his four years at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, meaning he must complete the majority of the "extremely intense" academics in three years.

"That's the main reason I wanted to go there — I've always wanted to travel," Gaines said, adding that he has wanted to be in the service as far back as he could remember.

He looked at the Air Force Academy first, then the Naval Academy before realizing the Merchant Marine Academy was more aligned to his interests and goals than the other academies.

The Merchant Marine Academy is located in Kings Point, N.Y., and he said he is "extremely excited" to make his way to the East Coast this month. Gaines is the only student from Idaho to receive the congressional nomination this year, and will be only one of two students from Idaho attending the academy next year.

Gaines said he is looking forward to beginning his basic training, which includes early mornings of physical training, late nights with little sleep, and "lots of getting yelled at." After those weeks are up, he and his classmates will be in the midshipman class at the academy when the academic year begins.

He said when he graduates from the academy in 2020, he has the choice to go active duty in the U.S. military in whichever branch he chooses — something unique to the Merchant Marines. If he does not choose to go to active duty, he can work in the private sector on a ship.

"That's the main purpose of the Merchant Marine Academy is to put out lead engineers and captains of these ships," he said. "I have so many options from this academy."

Gaines plans to major in intermodal transportation logistics and is considering a career as a fighter pilot, but said his interests could change over the next four years.

Although classes will officially start in the fall, all five of the future officers will begin their journey at the end of June, which is when their basic training begins.