Article Text

Audrey Ortiz-Peterson began kindergarten in Alamogordo, New Mexico. By the time she entered first grade, she was in Panama City, Florida.

Second and third grade took her to Anchorage, Alaska, where students sometimes received warnings about bears and moose on their walks home. Fourth grade brought another move, this time to Montgomery, Alabama.

She returned to Panama City for fifth grade, but a hurricane devastated Tyndall Air Force Base, where her father served as a U.S. Air Force pilot. In the middle of the school year, Ortiz-Peterson had to start again in Niceville, Florida. She remained there through eighth grade.

After attending eight schools during her K-12 years, Ortiz-Peterson is preparing to graduate from Mount Vernon High School in June and continue her education at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Her experience is familiar to many military-connected students. Moving could mean snowshoeing during physical education in Alaska one year and living minutes from Destin Beach in Florida the next. But each change also required leaving friends and familiar surroundings behind.

“You start to get the hang of it, though,” Ortiz-Peterson said. “I try to remember that new opportunities wait for you wherever you go.”

Building a Community at Mount Vernon

Ortiz-Peterson entered Fairfax County Public Schools as a ninth grader and quickly became involved with Mount Vernon’s Purple Team, which helps military-connected students form relationships and find support.

She served as the organization’s secretary during her freshman and sophomore years, then became vice president as a junior. In that role, she organized the group’s first wreath-laying visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, establishing a tradition she hopes future students will continue.

As president during her senior year, she worked to expand the team’s events and strengthen connections within Mount Vernon’s military community.

Frequent school changes taught her resilience and adaptability, she said, but they sometimes created academic complications. Courses occasionally had to be repeated when credits did not transfer between schools.

“It can be hard to remember when you’re in it that these challenges will help you in the end,” Ortiz-Peterson said.

Her graduation cap reflects that outlook by spelling out “BRAT” as “Brave, Resilient, And Tough.”

An Unexpected Path to Leadership

When Ortiz-Peterson arrived at Mount Vernon, she knew little about the school’s International Baccalaureate program. IB coordinator Sarah Freeland recognized her academic abilities and ambitions, helped her explore the available courses and built a schedule that would challenge her while supporting her goals.

Ortiz-Peterson accepted that challenge and will graduate from the school’s IB career program.

She also found athletic opportunities she had not anticipated. She briefly joined the softball team, an experience she believes might not have been available at the much larger Florida high school she otherwise would have attended.

Then friends persuaded her to try cross country, even though she did not consider herself a runner and initially had no interest in the sport.

“It was the best decision,” she said. “Running gave me traits that shaped me. It showed me that something can be both tough and rewarding at the same time, that doing something hard can make you better for it in the end.”

Ortiz-Peterson competed in the mile, 800-meter and 400-meter races, along with relays. She eventually participated in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.

By senior year, teammates had selected the once-reluctant runner as captain of all three teams. She encouraged athletes to practice even when no formal session was scheduled, led warmups and pushed teammates to improve.

Ortiz-Peterson also tried to deepen the relationships among team members. She said bus rides became more conversational, with athletes spending less time looking at their phones and more time supporting one another.

“No matter what happens, we still have a tight-knit community, built-in support,” she said. “It’s a lot tougher to do anything on your own than with a group around you, screaming at you to keep pushing.”

She found similar encouragement through her faith, her parents and three younger siblings, and Mount Vernon’s teachers and coaches. Members of that support network also helped her secure the congressional nomination required for West Point from Florida Rep. Neal Dunn.

“I had so many supporters here,” Ortiz-Peterson said. “I know they want me to do my best, and I want that as well.”