There are no safety nets in the sky.

Don’t bother telling Lt. Ali Kozlina what the odds are; she tends to ignore them.

The Seneca Valley graduate did not bother applying to any other colleges after her visit to the U.S. Naval Academy in high school, despite the academy accepting only 8% of applicants.

“I always like to be challenged,” Kozlina said. “I always like to push myself, so I felt going to the academy would definitely do that.”

At the Naval Academy, Kozlina ended up getting into flight school, also very selective.

Kozlina, who was commissioned in May 2022, pilots a Boeing P-8 Poseidon, a maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft used by the Navy to conduct surveillance and anti-submarine missions.

According to the Department of Defense, only 12% of naval aviators are women.

Military service never was in Kozlina’s plan. Even with her late grandfather serving in the United States Navy, Kozlina had initially planned to apply to Vanderbilt University or Southern Methodist University.

It was not until after being contacted by a Navy swim coach, that Kozlina decided to visit the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

“I really, to be honest, I didn’t know (the Naval Academy) even existed,” Kozlina said. “I went on the trip to check it out and maybe make a few connections.”

Then Kozlina saw her first “noon meal formation,” a naval academy tradition where all the men and women in uniform assemble for a roll call. It was in that moment — as she watched the midshipman line up and was able to see the pageantry of the Navy — that Kozlina knew the Naval Academy was the place for her.

“I instantly fell in love,” Kozlina said.

And at the age of 17, she decided she was going to serve the country. Not long after her trip to the academy, she canceled her scheduled trip to Vanderbilt.

“I always liked to be challenged — going to the school, going to the academy would definitely do that,” Kozlina said. “I thought it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Overall academic, swimming, it was a perfect fit and the chance to serve was an opportunity I did not want to miss.”

Melanie Buddemeye, Kozlina’s mother, recalls dropping off her daughter at the academy in 2018.

“I remember thinking at the time, we need to break this process into steps,” Buddemeye said. “I wanted to be as supportive as possible to Ali; I was just focused on doing whatever I could to help out Ali.”

Buddemeye watched as her daughter entered the academy and “they shut those big doors.” She would not have contact with Kozlina for four weeks.

Life at the academy is not like other accredited universities. Midshipmen have a regimented schedule that includes physical conditioning and leadership training in addition to academics. The program, steeped in tradition, is designed to push the young cadets to near breaking point to ensure they are ready to lead men and women into battle.

On top of the academic rigor, Kozlina swam all four years for the Division I school.

“It was definitely a grind,” Kozlina said.” There were tough moments for sure, like getting up at 5 a.m. and running in the cold to get to swim practice. But I really loved it.”

Kozlina’s younger brother, Shane, is well aware of his sister’s work ethic. He credits her “encouragement” during the summer, where she would wake him up so they could run or lift weights together.

“She trained so hard,” Shane said. “I used to hate waking up early, but she would wake me up and make me go run or lift.”

Shane got used to waking up early and to working hard and credits his older sister for helping instill that work ethic in him.

“I look up to her work ethic and determination a lot,” Shane said. “I stayed focus on my goals, because of her.”

Buddemeye believes her daughter’s drive comes from a place of competitiveness.

“That’s Ali. When she has a challenge, she puts on her game face,” Buddemeye said. “She is putting in 200% effort and 100% competitiveness in everything she does.”

Kozlina would need that work ethic and her competitive spirit when she was accepted into flight school.

“It was harder than college,” Kozlina said. “Flight school was the hardest I worked in my life.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately one in four flight school students do not successfully finish the program.

In March of 2023, Kozlina graduated first in her class, earning the much esteemed “VT-4 Top Graduate Award.”

Kozlina was recognized as the “outstanding graduate” and given a membership into “Daedalians,” America’s premier fraternal organization of military aviators.

Even with her extensive record and spending so much time literally “in the clouds,” Kozlina manages to stay grounded.

“We knew she swam during high school,” said Kozlina’s lifelong friend, Jessica LaValle, “but we didn’t realize how good she actually was until one of our friends told us she was ranked liked 30th in the state. She’s just really humble.”

“She’s very intelligent and very sporty ...” LaValle said. “She never really talked about herself that much.”

And while LaValle claims that Kozlina is still the same “happy-go-lucky” woman she knew in high school, there is one thing that is different about Kozlina since joining the military

She’s much, much stronger,” LaValle said. “She came back with a ton of muscle. Other than that, she is still the same ol’ Ali; she didn’t let circumstances change her.”

On paper it would appear that Kozlina is straight business; however, those close to her describe her as “bubbly” and “life of the party.”

“She’s very loyal to the ones she cares about,” Buddemeye said. “I know it sounds cliché, but she really lights up the room when she walks in. She’s just so vibrant. She’s carefree and happy.”

After four years at the Naval Academy and another two years in flight school, she is preparing to use all that training to carry out an important, even dangerous mission.

“The learning never stops,” Kozlina said. “There is always something that I can learn to make sure that I’m completing the mission.”