Octorara's own 2nd Lt. McKayla Mickel, who graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy on June 1, was recently recognized for her accomplishments. Atglen Borough Mayor Darren Hodorovich presented Mickel with a certificate for her accomplishments as she begins her military career.

Mickel is a 2019 graduate of Octorara Junior-Senior High School, where she was on the honor roll and was a multi-sport athlete for four years. She played soccer and basketball and also competed in shot put and javelin.

"I always knew I wanted to go into the military from the time I was pretty young," said Mickel.

After touring and then ruling out the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Mickel focused on attending the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. "You have to get an appointment to apply from a Congressman or woman or a senator; without that, you can't even get in the door," Mickel explained. "They only have a certain amount of slots to give. It's very selective. They only admit (about) 1,200 applicants each year."

At the academy, Mickel majored in behavioral science and minored in Spanish. She noted that attending a military institution provides a very different experience than attending a traditional college.

"In military college, there are three pillars - academics, military and athletics. You have to be proficient in all of these," she stated. "You have to go through basic training for six weeks before you get into the cadet wing."

She said that her first year at the academy was particularly demanding. "In freshman year, you can't wear civilian clothing, you can't be friends with upperclassmen and you can only call people by their last names," she said. "There is also intense physical training and military training."

She said that the pandemic made the experience even more challenging. "COVID hit and changed the experience so much. That was a tough time for all of us," she recalled. "We had to stay in our room, had to do online classes and we could not leave base. It was not really what I signed up for, but you bond with people who shared the experience of going through the same thing. In some shape or form, it (made us) better."

Mickel will soon depart for her assignment at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where she will work in job force support. "You get a dream sheet of your top five places. Hawaii was my No. 1 pick, so I got extremely lucky because it is rare that you get your pick," she said, adding that she hopes to have an opportunity to play rugby at her new assignment. "I played rugby at the academy, and I hope to get back into that. It was one of my favorite things about the academy by far."

Mickel will be required to stay in the military until 2028. "Once you graduate, you have a five-year commitment to service," she said. "If I enjoy what I'm doing, I see no reason to get out. I am ready to see what the Air Force has in store for me."