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Maria Anania, a Portland High School graduate, is headed for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

She wanted a Swiss Army knife for graduation.

Graduation gifts run the range of luggage, cars, expensive trips, bath towels and envelopes of cash.

Maria Anania wanted a Swiss Army knife.

This may have been a surprise to her parents, but it makes total sense when you think about what gift would be most useful if you're going to Army basic training in less than three weeks.

The 5-foot-7 Portland High School graduate gets a big grin on her face at the prospect.

"I'm actually really excited about it," the 17-year-old said.

Once you come to grips with the idea that your little girl wants to go to West Point and be a soldier, you can start to accept things you may have shrugged off before.

Of course, the trick is making that first leap of acceptance.

"I thought it was just a passing thing, an idea she got in her head and would soon be out," said Barbara Anania, Maria's mom.

The tricky thing? Maria won them over by being herself. The same unblinking determination and confidence that they say made her stand out in the classroom as well as softball and field hockey, she used in applying to West Point. It's also the same thing that gives them faith she'll do just fine as a soldier.

"Some days we're very proud. Some days we're melancholy. We hate to see her go," said her dad, Ed.

At the end of her junior year, Maria started to inquire about the U.S. Military Academy, but she made only passing mention of it to her parents. But after she needed to start racking up the recommendations, tests and other material to apply, it became hard to ignore.

"She brought a DVD home, and I wouldn't even watch it," Barbara said.

They tried denying it, ignoring it and even replacing it.

They visited Brown University, pushing the hard sell on how an Ivy League education would be just as challenging as West Point.

No dice.

There are plenty of parents who have dealt with or are dealing with a child who wants to join the armed service. But for the Ananias, the military seemed like it was nowhere in Maria's sights.

"When my baby girl decides she wants to go to West Point, I didn't think it was going to happen," Ed said.

But when Ed and Barbara realized their daughter was not going to bend, they knew they were the ones who would have to change.

Barbara says it happened for her when she read Maria's letter requesting a recommendation from the state's congressional delegation.

The funny thing is that by leaving her to collect information and apply on her own, they were reminded how they raised their daughter to be dedicated and self-assured.

For a long time, Maria had wanted to be a doctor, so she made the case for the cost and benefits of going through the Army versus the traditional route.

"I just really want to serve my country, and I thought this was the best way to do it. I also want to be a doctor, so I'll be able to do both," Maria said.

It also didn't hurt that she was bluntly honest with herself and her parents.

With the United States involved in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, she knows the odds are heavy that she'll be deployed.

"I think it's best to apply during (war)," she said. "You have more of a reality of it" than applying during peacetime.

She says she wants to serve her country, and "If you didn't have your heart in it, you wouldn't be prepared."

Prepared is a word that comes up a lot now. Prepared for training, prepared for school. Prepared for the reality that she might be stationed overseas.

While they are concerned, Ed said they know service is part of the job. But they also know it's their girl out there, the same one who prepares hard for everything. And that gives them a dose of faith.

"Just not in my wildest dreams would I go (to West Point), or him," Barbara says, pointing to her husband. "But I could see it was the perfect...