Senior Avery Beck has been accepted into the Air Force Academy. 

One of the main reasons why Beck decided she wanted to apply to the Air Force Academy was because of the people around her at work at the Bloomington Country Club. “People would ask me what I wanted to do after high school and I would say aviation. Sometimes they’d say to check out the Air Force Academy, but I never looked too much into it until I told my boss about it,” she said. Then, she explained how she did her research and looked more into the program. She noticed that the Air Force appreciated and taught certain values that pertain to her and that she uses in her everyday life, which persuaded her to focus solely on the Air Force Academy.  

Beck starts basic training in July. “I am excited! I think it is really just going to be about those eight or more weeks beforehand,” Beck said. She adds how the altitude will take some getting used to, but the excitement to begin her Air Force career in Colorado makes it worth it. 

The application process is long and specific, Beck explained. She said that recommendations from teachers, coaches, employers, etc. were one of the main processes you have to take. One of the trickiest parts Beck described was getting nominations from a congressman or a senator and noted the fitness assessment, which she had to take at school. She also added how she had to have an excessive amount of interviews conducted by committees and a 45-minute Zoom interview with the admissions coordinator. 

Excited for the future, Beck describes how she would possibly want to make her Air Force Academy path into a career. “If I was a pilot I could see that being something I could continue on especially because they have a 20-year contract that could lead me to retire early,” she said. “I might go commercial or if I choose to be a logistics readiness officer it might be transferable to other companies in the civilian world.”

Now that she’s accepted into the academy, Beck expresses her gratitude towards the people who helped her most. “I’m really grateful to all of my teachers, coaches, friends, and parents for helping me out throughout this process.”