Brayden Wilson

Alexandra Kozarsky stands at attention.

Through grit and determination, senior Alexandra Kozarsky proves her commitment to herself and her community. Kozarsky is a part of JROTC and has gained leadership experience by being the 2025-2026 Battalion Commander.

“While of course not an exact replica of the service,” Kozarsky said. “JROTC is a great introduction to the culture and traditions of the United States military and provided me, as well as others, opportunities to grow in leadership. The experience I’ve acquired from being introduced to leadership at a younger age is invaluable, and I encourage anyone who wishes to grow in integrity and maturity to take part in the program as well.”

JROTC gives students like Kozarsky the opportunity to gain leadership skills and expose them to what military culture may be like, if they have an interest in serving their country.

“From a young age, I knew that I wanted to serve my country, and I felt the best way for me to do so personally was to join the military,” Kozarsky said. “I wanted to expose myself to a military culture as soon as I could to be better prepared for a life of service.”

While working towards this goal, Kozarsky went to the United States Coast Guard Academy’s Academy Introduction Program, also known as AIM, a selective program to allow students going into their senior year to determine if they want to pursue a life within the United States Coast Guard Academy.

“During my time in the program, I was met with a lot of yelling, push-ups, running around an extremely hilly campus, and knowledge memorization,” Kozarsky said. “It was the hardest thing I’ve done in my life, hands down, but my amazing cadre and fellow shipmates inspired and supported me the whole way through. I’ve never been prouder of overcoming any challenge quite like AIM. My shipmates and I winning Honor Platoon and my own personal win of the Highest Female Physical Fitness Test (PFE) were the cherry on top to my very intense and rewarding experience at AIM.”

Kozarsky however has always known the struggles and rewards of working hard and gaining success through that work. She has been playing lacrosse for over 13 years and currently plays for Kingwood Ladies Lacrosse, Houston Hot Sauce Lacrosse and Space City Rovers Lacrosse.

“My journey has not always been a smooth one and any athlete can attest to facing the highs and lows that come with their sport,” Kozarsky said. “Whether that be hard losses and difficult team dynamics or the high of playing with long time friends at tournaments around the country. I’m thankful for all my experiences and all that they’ve taught me about perseverance and mental fortitude and hope to continue my lacrosse career in college and hopefully one day as a coach”

Kozarsky plans on using the skills that she has learned from JROTC and lacrosse to help support her when she continues her education into college.

“I’ve been accepted to the Virginia Military Institute and Norwich and I’m currently pursuing an appointment to both the United States Military Academy and the United States Coast Guard Academy,” Kozarsky said. “In less than a year I hope to find myself either camping in the woods during a field training exercise or quite literally learning the ropes of sailing. I intend to study international relations or political science so that I may pursue intelligence and homeland security in my career once I commission as an Officer.”

Despite Kozarsky’s absolute certainty in where the future will lead, she is certain in her morals and community who will guide her there.

“It’s impossible to tell where life will take me but I place my full trust in God to guide me in my future,” Kozarsky said. “Regardless of where I attend college I hope to honor God, my family and give back to my country through a life of service in the military.”