WASHINGTON — When McKenzie Bell of Bend first visited West Point in August, she knew instinctively that the military academy was for her.

But she wasn’t there as a high school student on a college visit. She and her parents, Kyle and Kelsey, were attending the ceremony marking the end of her younger brother Braden’s intensive first five weeks of training as a first-year student. McKenzie, who graduated from Bend High School in 2013, was about to start her sophomore year at the College of Idaho.

Going to West Point, if she could get in, would mean she would start as a plebe, and in the military’s eyes, Braden would outrank her.

“I think we started applying in the airport terminal on the way home,” she said recently of her trip to West Point. “Once I set my mind on something, there’s very little that can stop me from trying.”

Last week, she learned she had been nominated by Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, one of eight endorsed by the Congressman and the only candidate from Central Oregon.

“Being nominated to one of our nation’s service academies represents years of hard work and discipline,” Walden said in a prepared statement. “Competing with the best and brightest of America’s youth for an appointment to an academy is a great honor and a tremendous opportunity. I am confident that these talented students would represent their families and nation well.”

McKenzie, 20, had envisioned getting a doctorate in physical therapy. She said she was drawn to the academy’s combination of service and leadership training and the potential to see the world.

“If I could do leadership and travel the world and help people, why not do it all in the same place?” she said.

For his part, Braden, 18, said he embraced the idea of having his older sister join him at school.

“It’s going to be really cool; I would love to have her there,” he said. “I’m not going to be like, ‘Hey, it’s my thing, don’t come here.’”

Braden said he would likely haze her gently a few times, but he will also be in a position to step in if any upperclassmen go overboard.

He was honest with his sister about the challenges of juggling military training, physical fitness and academics, but said he is confident that she can thrive, since she participated in the rigorous academics of Bend High’s International Baccalaureate program. Plebes have to master a certain amount of West Point-specific trivia — how many lights are there in Cullum Hall, for example — and defer to upperclassmen, but after a few months they adjust to the rhythms of daily life at the military school.

“She’ll be fine as long as she can deal with those day-to-day stupid things,” he said.

Mother Kelsey Bell said although there have been uncles and grandparents who served in the military, she and her husband did not raise their children focused on them attending a service academy.

“I’m as surprised as anyone,” she said of the possibility of having both of her children enrolled at West Point. Her daughter has always been an achiever, from participating in 4-H to volunteering with the Red Cross, she said.

Kelsey Bell said she has come to accept that once they graduate, Braden and McKenzie will likely both be put in harm’s way, particularly now that women have been cleared for combat missions.

“It makes your heart leap into your throat,” she said. “It’s a price we have to pay, too, if something happens to them, but I’d never stand in the way of what they want.”

She takes comfort in knowing her son will be able to look out for her daughter. The combination of being across the country and the strict rules for when students can leave campus mean that opportunities for parental visits are rare.

“I think that knowing that Braden feels comfortable with his sister there puts my mind at ease,” she said.

For her part, McKenzie has hurled herself into the application process. When she learned there were additional testing slots available after she had taken her physical fitness exam, she came back two days later, still sore from her first try, and took it again. On the second time around, the former cross country athlete improved her scores.

And she will have no problem with her younger brother pulling rank.

“I absolutely respect him,” she said. “It’s a different dynamic, but we’re so close I don’t think it matters.”

— Reporter: 202-662-7456, aclevenger@bendbulletin.com