 My story is being an underdog. Having the chance to prove the odds wrong is always a great feeling for me. My parents were in the Marine Corps. My mom for 22 years, and my dad served for 12 years. Soon after 9-11, my dad was stationed in San Diego, California. He was driving. Someone cut him off. His vehicle flipped. His neck snapped. The car was completely crushed, totaled. It's honestly a miracle that he survived. Being in a wheelchair couldn't stop him. All these positions and offices and boards that he's been able to sit on, if anything, it was a catalyst. Because there's one secret. There's one secret out there. You'll never be fast enough because there's a secret that I have. That you don't know. All right, put your hand back up. Growing up, seeing my mom, putting on her bootstrap. I just remember being so proud every time she came and picked me up from school, and she would be in her uniform, and I'd be like, that's my mom. I wanted to be just like her. She looked so powerful, and she had a commanding presence in her uniform. And it was everything that I wanted for myself. 16 minutes to launch the mission. Make sure you guys inside. Company 8, 0700. Unit 4 for morning formation is working class. We're made for morning meal ahead. I chose to go to the Naval Academy because I wanted to be in the military. And the procedure at the academy was attractive to me. The academics are rigorous. You're being trained in everything from the politics of China and Japan, the electrical engineering, physics, chemistry. This isn't your average college. We're getting prepared to go to sea for the world's most powerful Navy. It's my turn to stand the watch now. Passing the torch from one generation in the military to the other, I'll be happy to join that community with honor. My love for boxing came from watching boxing with my dad. I think it was me trying to bond with him. I knew I loved it. Jab and duck, jab, duck straight down. This month we have our Brigade Championship coming up to see who the best boxers are. Finish with the two. Fast, fast, fast. Every situation is different, so you have to adjust for their style to still get the job done. That's what my dad does. And that's what I try to do in the boxing ring. Well, look at you. Hi. How do you feel? Fired up. It took me a whole lot longer to get to the point where you are now. You're off to a good start. You're off to a very good start. And I'm extremely proud of you that every hardship I've ever endured, if it meant for you to get to this point and have a shot, I would go back in time and endure it ten times over. Everything happens for a reason. And I don't have a bad day in my life when I think about what it meant to get you to this point. That's what the pride really means to me. I'll be fighting the team captain. She's a senior, and it's going to be a really good fight. I'm going to put my best foot forward for sure. I need you to get a light on your feet. I need you to get a light on your feet, okay? You look like you started to get gas. You are not gasped, okay? Don't show the judges that, all right? Don't worry about the jab too much. And keep moving your head. You'll never be fascinated because there's a secret that I have that you don't know. You know what the secret is? There's a direct line shoulder, straight through. I'm thinking about my fist being connected to here, not to here. And they won't see it coming. By the time you pull it back, they won't even hit when you set up the next shot. It was a close fight. It's within our reach. I didn't see that I would be a mis-shipman one day or that this would be possible for me. We have a lot of demands daily. If everyone does their job and takes care of each other, how we're trained to do a genuine connection forms. It really does bond you as a family. So, I feel proud to serve. The Navy has provided me a great opportunity of doing things I've never could have done if I didn't go here. So, it's already been a great adventure and it's only going to get better from here. My name is Kayla Gillums and I'm a mis-shipman at the U.S. Naval Academy.