From the Connecticut Post:
MILFORD -- Alejandra Dorado was born in Spain, but she considers the United States her home country -- so much that she wants nothing more than to serve this country, first as a naval officer and later as an astronaut.
The 18-year-old senior at Jonathan Law High School, who goes by "Alex," got a few dismissive chuckles when she revealed her dreams as a child: After all, doesn't every kid want to be an astronaut?
"Everyone was like, 'Oh, that's a phase,' " she said with a dimpled laugh.
But for Dorado, an earnest, well-spoken young woman with a firm handshake, that wasn't true. The dreams she harbored as a young child in Houston, remain more alive than ever, and four years of hard work and perseverance in high school paid off last month, when she got a phone call that signaled the first major step in her journey toward flight.
She was accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., becoming the first young woman from Law ever to do so. She is only the second from Milford, according to Kevin Liddy, a member of the city Planning and Zoning Board and a 1978 graduate of the academy who helped Dorado navigate the academy's elaborate application process as her Blue & Gold Officer.
"My heart stopped. Everything froze," Dorado said, remembering the Jan. 12 call from U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. "It was a moment that I'll never forget. You work so hard to achieve ... it's an amazing feeling. What kept me going was knowing what all this hard work would do."
The chance to attend the academy makes worthwhile all the all-nighters, the pacing with a book at 3 a.m. and the teary breakdowns in the kitchen when it all seemed overwhelming, Dorado said.
Of course, this is still the beginning.
In July, she'll take an oath and start the infamous "Plebe" year of military academies, known for tough treatment and requirements that result in a sort of hazing that winnows the incoming class. She plans to study aerospace engineering and minor in physics.
Dorado's high school years in the Air Force Auxiliary's Civil Air Patrol program in Stratford developed her character and provided many opportunities, including a 2007 weeklong summer camp as a foretaste of military academy life: Sirens and screamed orders at 5 a.m., falling out of bed, drilling, and seminars.
Sound like fun?
Well, it may be a challenge, but Dorado is up for it and believes, again, that the struggle will be worthwhile. "I'm nervous, but I'm excited," she said. "I always liked that military discipline -- that structure. I want to serve my country and I want to be a leader in my country."
Once through another four years of hard work, she'll have to compete for a pilot's slot and attend pilot training for roughly two years before serving for another mandatory five years, perhaps more, as a fighter pilot.
Later, she hopes to go on to NASA as a space shuttle pilot.
When she first sat in the pilot's seat at 16, Dorado knew: "It was one of those weird moments in life "¦ when you feel that's where you're supposed to be."
Dorado's passion is evident as she talks, animated with eyes shining, of service, leadership, courage and integrity: Things she said describe her well.
She had to meet stringent physical, medical and academic standards to qualify for the academy, and had to secure a congressional or senatorial nomination. She got two: One from Lieberman and one from U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3.
All while earning As and Bs, running her own dog-walking business and busing tables at a local restaurant, playing the clarinet and trumpet in school bands, running track and playing soccer, softball and basketball.
Her mother, Adela Abel, said she was initially skeptical of her daughter joining the military. But, thankful as she is to her adopted country, she is willingly giving over her younger daughter to years of service.
"As a parent, it's a bittersweet thing, but what can I say? It's her life," Abel said. "She earned it the whole way. As an immigrant, this country has given so much. I'm proud of her; I'm proud that she made this country her own."
Liddy said Dorado's acceptance is a credit to the quality of Milford public schools. "I think it says a lot about the youngsters of our area," he said. "We're a very blue state, very anti-war "¦ but the fact that our youngsters still want to serve our country and they believe in it speaks well."
Dorado, too, credited much of her success to help from her guidance counselor, Paulette Reeves, and several teachers at Law.
Academy students are paid half the salary of a junior officer while they attend, Liddy said, but getting in is hard. Each member of Congress can nominate up to 10 young people out of all who apply, and "at the most, one" of those will be accepted, he said.
"It's a very convoluted, torturous, treacherous path," he said. "It seemed like she was really gung-ho and she won her parents over."
Supt. of Schools Harvey Polansky expressed pride in Dorado's success as "one of our own."
"It's an extraordinary honor," he said. "Very few students nationwide have the opportunity to go to Annapolis."
