After 10 years in Wrangell and a lifetime on boats, Ben Houser is looking at his next step — the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. With nominations from both of Alaska’s U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, he is hopeful about winning admission.

Houser, a high school senior, first heard about the program in his junior year, but thought the application process looked daunting. Halfway through his senior year, with encouragement from friends and counselors, he realized the program would be a good fit and started the application process.

“I’m good at school and hardworking, and I’ve lived and worked on boats my whole life,” he said. “I mean, my dad’s a commercial fisherman, and I’ve fished with him every summer since I can remember, really.”

The 84-year-old academy on Long Island, New York, trains cadets to work as licensed officers, whether they serve in the merchant marine or armed forces. The academy is more than classroom work and lessons at the dock — it includes a year at sea.

To apply to the academy, students need to send academic and extracurricular information and an essay to the academy, as well as receive a nomination from a member of Congress. Students also have to take a fitness assessment and medical evaluation.

For the best chance, Houser applied to multiple representatives. While the process was rigorous, he said his parents helped him focus.

“I’d have to stay back, not go with my friends sometimes and just get some work done,” Houser said. “I really just had to lock in, and just tell myself I need to get this done, and once I got it done, it feels a lot better than having it hanging over yourself.”

Besides school, he balanced wrestling, basketball and cross-country along with his hobbies of hunting and trapping. He has also been building a jet boat in shop class.

Upon graduation, students in the academy receive a bachelor of science degree, a U.S. Coast Guard license and an officer’s commission in the U.S. Armed Forces. Graduates then complete their service requirement by working either five years in the U.S. maritime industry plus eight years of service as an officer in the armed forces reserves, or five years on active duty.

Many of the fees, including tuition, room and board, uniforms and textbooks, are covered by the federal government. Students also receive basic medical and dental care, though they have to pay for other expenses such as laundry services.

“I will be far away, but I just want to see a change, and I want to be able to do this schooling for free and then come back and be able to help my community in Alaska with my education,” Houser said.

He said the education and resources the academy could provide would help him be able to work on tugboats or cruise ships in the area.

“In Wrangell, if the tugboat doesn’t come to town for one week, we don’t have eggs or milk on our shelves, so, being a maritime worker, you’re basically, basically saving the community.”

Houser believes that with his nominations from both Alaska senators, he has a good chance of being accepted. His backup plans include pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at Montana State University, Northern Arizona University or the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he has been accepted, or working with his captain’s license that he plans to get in April.

“These young Alaskans exemplify what it means to lead — and it is an honor to nominate them to our nation’s military service academies as they take their next steps,” said Murkowski in a press release. “I offer them my heartfelt congratulations and can’t wait to see how they serve their communities as they become the next generation of leaders in Alaska and around the country.”

Houser will hear back on his application sometime in April. In the meantime, is looking forward to taking his boat on the water, the Southeast Alaska regional basketball tournament the first weekend in March, and a trip to Mexico.

“It’s just a wonderful thing to be able to live in a place by Wrangell. But I just want to be able to keep that going, so people can continue to live in these places and communities,” he said.