Interviewed by Hannah Kurczeski, Activities Editor
What job do you currently hold
?
After graduating high school in 2015, I pursued a Bachelor of Science in meteorology with a minor in nuclear weapons engineering and strategy at the United States Air Force Academy and graduated as a member of the class of 2019. I was selected to attend Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) at Vance AFB in the class of 20-24 where I initially flew the T-6A Texan II. Half way through the year-long program I was picked up for the fighter/bomber track and moved on to fly the T-38C Talon. Last September I graduated, earned my wings and was selected to fly the F-15E Strike Eagle. I graduated from a course called Intro to Fighter Fundamentals at Randolph AFB in January, and I am now at Seymour Johnson AFB to begin the Basic Qualification course for the F-15E as an upgrading pilot.
How have your plans changed since graduating college?
While in high school, my plan was to attend the Air Force Academy and become a pilot, but at that time I couldn’t have even named most aircraft in the Air Force inventory. As I went through the Academy and the first half of pilot training, I became more certain that I wanted to pursue fighters. I eventually made my final choice to pursue F-15E’s in the last couple months of pilot training. I also used to think of military aviation primarily as a path to becoming an airline pilot in high school. I have become a lot more focused on making a full military career as I have progressed in the military. Transitioning to the airlines is more of an afterthought now.
What is
most memorable about your time at CHS
?
Probably the most memorable thing about Catty is the community. It always felt really tight-knit and made me feel like they were always behind me and routing for me as I made my push to get into the Academy. Now that I’ve been gone for five years, I’ve definitely felt increasing separation from the community, but the traditions of Thanksgiving usually give me one chance a year to reconnect.
Do you have advice for current Catty students?
My advice to current Catty students is “lose sight, lose the fight.” It’s the first axiom of basic fighter maneuvering, and while it carries a very literal meaning for fighter pilots, I think it’s also a strong metaphor for pursuing your dreams. There’s going to be a lot of difficult tests and hard times in between you and realizing your dreams, but through those times you can’t lose sight of what it is you’re fighting to accomplish. You have to keep digging towards that end goal, because while one good week can’t make your dreams, one bad week could end it.
