Charleston Cadet Earns Triple Nominations, Appointment to Naval Academy
CHARLESTON, S.C. — “I was shaking,” admitted Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Matilynn Vermette of Civil Air Patrol’s Coastal Charleston Composite Squadron. “I was so nervous… [Interviewers] are looking at you and judging you. But then when you start talking to them, you lose a bit of the nerves.”
At just 18 years old, Vermette successfully navigated one of the toughest application processes in the country. To earn a spot at the U.S. Naval Academy, she faced three separate interviews — with U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn — ultimately receiving nominations from all three.
With an acceptance rate under 10%, the Academy offers a highly selective path to commissioning as an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps. Vermette, who earned her appointment during her senior year of high school, has joined the Class of 2029.
“I want to be a Navy pilot,” she said. “My dream is to land on an aircraft carrier. That’s been my dream for a while.”
Her interest in aviation was sparked early by her brother’s admiration for the Navy’s Blue Angels and her father, a Navy veteran, who introduced her to the idea of applying to the Academy.
“I think in the back of my mind, I kind of wanted to do it,” Vermette said. “But it wasn’t until I saw that this could actually be a pathway to becoming a pilot that I really committed.”
She backed up that dream with action. In addition to serving in leadership roles at her CAP squadron, Vermette completed her private pilot certificate through CHS Flight School, earning her single-engine certification on June 16, 2025. CHS Flight School is a private aviation school based at Charleston International Airport in North Charleston.
“CAP was how I got into flying,” she said.
After her first orientation flight, she immediately started looking into how to earn her private pilot’s license.
That license required 40 hours of flight time, a written exam, and an oral checkride. The Naval Academy application included nomination letters, essays, a resume, interviews, a fitness test, and strict deadlines.
Beyond sparking her aviation ambitions, Vermette said CAP helped her develop leadership skills that will serve her well at Annapolis.
“I think the discipline and understanding leadership...really helped grow my skills,” she said. “Not just being the follower, but being the leader. And I think that 100% will help me in the future.”
She credits CAP with preparing her for the mental challenges of Academy life, particularly Plebe Summer — the intense, six-week program every new midshipman must endure, which she is now nearing the end of.
“I feel like the hardest thing, especially during Plebe Summer, is understanding where [the instructors] are coming from when they’re yelling at you. But they’re doing it because they know you can do better,” Vermette said. “They have goals for you that you may not know yet.”
Her advice for other cadets? Start early, and don’t give up. In a letter to her parents during Plebe Summer, she said CAP was helpful to prepare her for what was to come, like making her bed correctly, putting on her uniform properly, and drill.
“Start preparing, start working,” she said. “One morning, you’ll see that email from U.S.N.A. admissions… and it says, ‘Congratulations.' That email will change your life.”
Now, with her appointment secured and her pilot certification in hand, Vermette is preparing to lead — in the sky and in service.
“I think CAP just helped me mature as a leader and as a person,” Vermette said.
And for the U.S. Naval Academy, that maturity is exactly what they look for: leaders of character, prepared to put service before self, act with integrity, and accept no less than excellence.
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Staff Sgt. Rachel Pakenas
Coastal Charleston Composite Squadron Public Affairs Officer