Ashley Fish, left, pilots the “S.S. Bentley” for the underwater robotics team at Warrenton High School. Fish is a semifinalist for the Military Child of the Year Award.

WARRENTON — In all respects, Warrenton High School senior Ashley Fish is a high-achiever, whether she is loading up on honors courses, studying online and through the summer at Clatsop Community College, fixing computers for her district or starting up Lego robotics teams for younger kids.

Not one to abdicate her responsibility in paying for college, Fish, 17, has applied for about 10 scholarships, among them the Military Child of the Year award, for which she was recently named one of 90 semifinalists nationwide.

The award, given by the nonprofit Operation Homefront, honors children of U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and National Guard for their scholarship, volunteerism, leadership and extracurricular involvement while facing the challenges of military life.

The award goes to six children, one for each military branch. Fish is one of 15 semifinalists for the Coast Guard. She is one of two semifinalists from Oregon, along with National Guard child Lily Moser from Portland.

Fish’s father, Robert, retired in 2008 after nearly 30 years in the Coast Guard. A child of an Air Force family, she said he didn’t want her family to experience moving across the country with each deployment.

“For my entire life, he switched between the Alert and Steadfast,” Fish said, adding her father worked in the engine rooms until retiring when she was 12.

On average, previous recipients of the Military Child of the Year Award have had at least one parent deploy for 18 months or longer and have relocated at least five times due to a parent’s military assignments, according to Operation Homefront. Despite his being stationed close to home, Fish said her father missed about half her childhood while he was enlisted, adding that as a child, she had trouble recognizing him in between deployments. “Even though he wasn’t home with me, I knew he was protecting the country,” she said.

“I’m a good fit for it because I’ve done so much to strive for achievement in my life,” Fish said about her pursuit of Military Child of the Year. “I almost don’t know why. I really just like learning … and having all the possible knowledge I can attain.”

She is currently enrolled in about 10 courses, seven of them at the high school and several honors-level, while holding a 3.96 GPA. She takes a yoga and online fitness course through the college, along with a stress and depression management course as part of the college’s Lives in Transition student support program. “I thought that would be interesting, because I eventually want to be a criminologist,” she said.

As part of the Military Child of the Year award, Fish said she was asked about her leadership ability. She mentioned to her interviewers F1shSt1ckz, the award-winning Lego robotics team she helped create at Warrenton Grade School, a team named in her honor.

Fish also takes part in her high school’s robotics team, building underwater robots and competing against other schools around the state. Since her sophomore year, she has worked in the district’s technology department, helping prepare computers for students over the summer, and repairing them during the school year. Fish also volunteers with the Clatsop County Animal Shelter.

Heading back to school today, Fish is gathering recommendations for her bid to be a finalist in the Military Child of the Year award. Each of the six recipients of the award receive a $10,000 scholarship, a laptop and a trip to Washington, D.C., for an awards gala in April.

Ultimately for Fish, winning is a pragmatic endeavor to help her satiate her thirst for knowledge, which stretches toward a master’s and possibly a doctorate in criminology. “I’ll need every bit of funding I can get,” she said.