Five years minimum.
That’s how long senior Alana Spencer has to serve in the navy now that she has committed to the United States Naval Academy. But she wants to spend longer there.
“I think I always knew I wanted to serve because my dad was in the FBI, which is a different type of service, but I always kind of looked up to the fact that he was helping others, and it felt like what he was doing was really important,” Spencer said. “I just want to do something like that, either after college or during college, and because the Naval Academy has such great academic programs, I thought that was pretty much perfect.”
Spencer first heard about the Naval Academy during her junior year, and almost immediately knew that it was the place for her.
“I toured it, and I fell in love with it,” Spencer said. “The people there that I met were so mature and just seemed so different from people I’ve met anywhere else, and I just wanted to be a part of that community.”
Even Spencer’s friends have seen her dedication to the Naval Academy since she decided she wanted to go there, especially her friend and senior Avery Vondenstein, who she has known since moving to Houston in 2019.
“I feel like I know almost everything about her USNA journey at this point,” Vondenstein said. “She has been working so hard these past few years to get into this school. She was always in constant contact with her admission person and contacting any other people she could to help her in her journey. Alana and I would go to the gym almost every other day while she was training for her physical exam.”
There was a lengthy process that had to be completed on both Spencer and Bellaire counselor Janet Davis’ part, which led to Davis being very involved in Spencer’s journey.
“I was shocked initially, but also proud that she’s different and that she doesn’t follow the crowd,” Davis said. “She does what she wants to do, what she thinks she’s been called to do, and I believe she’s just a natural leader.”
Spencer not only had to generally apply to the college, but also complete mental and physical exams that determined her admission and get a letter of recommendation from a senator or congressman.
“You have two chances with their senators, and then you have your congressperson,” Spencer said. “You apply for them, and then you just wait to hear back. The senators have more staff, so they came back a lot quicker. It was literally a day before Christmas, I got the stupid letter that said, ‘We’re sorry, we can’t give you [a recommendation letter],’ and I was like ‘This is a horrible Christmas present.’ I was so stressed, but luckily my congressman, [Lizzie Fletcher], gave it to me.”
Although Spencer had her heart set on USNA, she was not always sure that she would be accepted.
“Every single day before I got in, I was biting my nails because I wanted to go there so badly that it was just so hard waiting,” Spencer said. “I applied early to increase my chances as much as I could.”
But then, in October of 2024, after working on the application since June, Spencer received a letter of assurance from USNA, which said that if she received the recommendation from her statesperson, she was guaranteed admission.
“I remember when I got that at school; when I first opened it I was freaking out,” Spencer said. “I was like, ‘I gotta call my dad.’ I thought it was a mistake. I was like, ‘Did they mean to give me it?’ But it’s just definitely imposter syndrome because they were telling us at an admissions thing not to expect that.”
Spencer’s friends Vondenstein and senior Astrid Ajatta are excited for her journey with the USNA, claiming that the school is a “perfect fit” for her, according to Vondenstein.
“She is the most dedicated and hardworking person I know, which is exactly what you need to make it at that school,” Vondenstein said. “She has worked so hard to get here and really deserves it.”
Davis agrees with this, saying that she is “so proud” of her.
“She’s been through a lot the past few years,” Davis said “I know they relocated to Houston for her, for them to go to school here. Her dad retired from the FBI, if I remember correctly, and her mom is no longer with us, and her mom’s guidance was very impactful. Her parents did an amazing job [preparing her to be an adult]. I just added on to it, so they made my job easy.”
Davis made such a mark on Spencer’s journey through high school that Spencer put Davis down for the Navy Impact Influencer Award, an award which was presented to her by three Navy officers.
“When one of the officers read this, I just cried, because that’s my goal in life, is to encourage my students, to help them to go far, go to whatever God’s will is for their lives,” Davis said. “It’s a privilege for me to be a part of that. That’s my prayer for all of my students, so to actually hear the answers to my prayers in this award as the officer is reading it, and I’m thinking, ‘This child, this student, this wonderful child, saw in me what I’ve asked you to deposit into me, so that I can deposit into her and it’s just amazing.’”
Spencer’s family has overall been supportive of her, but there were a few worries that they had before sending her to the USNA.
“My mom was worried that it would be a very different college experience, but the way I looked at it, I wasn’t really missing out on anything because there are things that I’m doing there that I can’t do at other colleges,” Spencer said. “So I’m gaining these experiences that I think will really help me in the future, and I know what I want to do, so I’m okay with losing some freedoms that you might have at other colleges.”
While her friends are “sad because [they] won’t get to see her as much,” they still believe that Spencer is where she should be.
“It’s a big commitment, but I feel like Alana is a very dedicated person, so I wasn’t surprised that she was pursuing such a rigorous future,” Ajatta said. “I just know how important it is to her, and she’s worked so hard for it, so I’m excited that she’s getting the future she deserves.”
