Emily Burlison, a 2013 Tahoma High graduate, has found the perfect pair of illusive tube socks that come almost to her knee — an essential for those embarking on basic training also known as swab summer at the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.

Burlison just graduated from Tahoma High 10 days ago but she’s already counting down the days until her brief summer ends. Nine days from now she’ll report for basic training at the academy and begin seven weeks of training, which if she survives, will be the beginning of what she plans will be a long career with the Coast Guard.

“I’ve always wanted to join the military just because it seems like that’s built for me,” Burlison said. “I really enjoy academic challenge so when I found out that academies existed I (went that direction).”

Out of 2,300 applicants only 235 were accepted for this year’s freshman class at the academy.

“When it (her acceptance) was finally cleared…I was so relieved,” Burlison said.

For Burlison it was the humanitarian focus of the Coast Guard that appealed to her.

“It’s partially the humanitarian mission of the Coast Guard, and also they’re a smaller service and things that the Coast Guard does more directly affects helping American lives,” Burlison said.

Burlison has practiced Kokondo, a traditional form of karate and ju-jitsu for ten years, and she sees correlations between the discipline required for martial arts and life as a member of the military that appeal to her.

“It would probably be that (Kokondo) that sparked my interest in not liking civilian life as much,” Burlison said.

Applying for the academy wasn’t much different than the other college applications she had to fill out, Burlison said. She still had to write essays and then there was the usual paperwork. The one big difference was the physical and medical exams.

Burlison credited her experiences at Tahoma with helping her to figure out what she wants to study – operations research and computer analysis.

Originally, Burlison thought she wanted to be an engineer so she joined Bear Metal, the robotics team at Tahoma.

“I learned from Robotics that I’m not,” Burlison said with a laugh. “But I also learned that I really like what’s called scouting. It’s like intelligence gathering on the robots and stuff, and I’d develop questions and interpret them for our strategist. It actually is kind of similar to operations research which is part of how I found that.”

After she graduates from the academy, Burlison is committed to five years serving in the Coast Guard.

“Personally, I think I’m going to stay in a lot longer than that,” Burlison said.

At Tahoma Burlison was a member of the math team, Mu Alpha Theta.

“I’ve learned a lot of leadership from math team and been able to help influence and teach younger students,” Burlison said.

Burlison credited with math team coach Malinda Shirley as being the teacher who has influenced her the most through coaching, even though Burlison never actually took a class from Shirley.

“She is great at multi-tasking,” Shirley wrote of Burlison in an email interview. “She is enthusiastic and very positive in her approach.”

As for the class that taught her the most about herself, Burlison said that was definitely advanced composition.

“I’ve had all this AP English and it (advanced composition) was more like creative writing but with structure and I just got to write more about myself, like there was this essay where you wrote about your passion and stuff and it helped me figure out more about myself than all this symbolism and stuff that other classes are making me do,” Burlison said. “I feel like no one can be completely, fully prepared for the Academy but I feel like everything that I’ve been doing these last years have been working to prepare me.”

Burlison is spending her last few days before she reports for duty hanging out with friends and family and checking things off the short list of what she’ll need and what she is allowed to take with her, including those illusive tube socks.

“It all sounds like it will be really fun and really terrible at the same time,” Burlison said. “When I was following the cadet around for the cadet for a day program the first thing I asked her was, “What is your favorite thing about the Academy?” and immediately she responds “Sleeping.”

But, Tahoma even prepared Burlison for a lack of precious shut eye that college students simultaneously covet and are notoriously short on. When asked what her biggest take-away from Tahoma was Burlison half joked, “Sleep is optional.”