1 00:00:00,170 --> 00:00:02,392 I would say my absolute favorite day in 2 00:00:02,392 --> 00:00:04,226 the Air Force was the day that I 3 00:00:04,226 --> 00:00:06,281 commissioned . Um It's gonna make me 4 00:00:06,281 --> 00:00:09,659 choked up because when I went into the 5 00:00:09,668 --> 00:00:11,788 Air Force , my mom didn't get to be 6 00:00:11,798 --> 00:00:13,909 there to see it . And one of the last 7 00:00:13,909 --> 00:00:15,909 things I told my mom was that I was 8 00:00:15,909 --> 00:00:18,076 gonna go achieve my dreams of going to 9 00:00:18,076 --> 00:00:21,719 the Air Force Academy . I 10 00:00:21,729 --> 00:00:24,149 joined in 2019 from the Air Force 11 00:00:24,159 --> 00:00:26,326 Academy , which if you don't know , is 12 00:00:26,326 --> 00:00:28,437 a four year undergraduate institution 13 00:00:28,437 --> 00:00:30,270 that at the end , you ultimately 14 00:00:30,270 --> 00:00:32,381 commission to being an officer in the 15 00:00:32,381 --> 00:00:34,880 Air Force or the Space Force . At first , 16 00:00:34,889 --> 00:00:37,111 to be honest , it was a really , really 17 00:00:37,111 --> 00:00:39,222 tough experience because the military 18 00:00:39,222 --> 00:00:41,445 is hard . But then I quickly found that 19 00:00:41,445 --> 00:00:43,349 my military people and family had 20 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:45,869 always had my back . I had professors 21 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:47,936 that really poured into me to ensure 22 00:00:47,936 --> 00:00:50,158 that I was going to stay . I ultimately 23 00:00:50,158 --> 00:00:52,158 ended up meeting my fiance my first 24 00:00:52,158 --> 00:00:54,380 year there . And now I have friends and 25 00:00:54,380 --> 00:00:56,436 family and people that I get to call 26 00:00:56,436 --> 00:00:58,324 loved ones from all across the US 27 00:00:58,324 --> 00:01:00,491 because of the Air Force Academy . And 28 00:01:00,491 --> 00:01:02,547 one of the last things I told my mom 29 00:01:02,547 --> 00:01:04,491 was that I was gonna go achieve my 30 00:01:04,491 --> 00:01:06,324 dreams of going to the Air Force 31 00:01:06,324 --> 00:01:08,547 Academy . And when I got to throw up my 32 00:01:08,547 --> 00:01:10,769 hat , I knew that I made it through . I 33 00:01:10,769 --> 00:01:12,824 knew that I set out to graduate from 34 00:01:12,824 --> 00:01:12,760 the Air Force Academy . I knew that I 35 00:01:12,769 --> 00:01:14,880 set out to stay with my friends and I 36 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,455 do what I was told my mom , I love . So 37 00:01:17,464 --> 00:01:19,464 when I got to shake the president's 38 00:01:19,464 --> 00:01:21,631 hand , when I got to throw up my hat , 39 00:01:21,631 --> 00:01:23,797 when the Thunderbirds flew over , when 40 00:01:23,797 --> 00:01:26,020 I got to run over to my now fiance , it 41 00:01:26,020 --> 00:01:27,964 was just , I had , I had known how 42 00:01:27,964 --> 00:01:29,908 difficult the last four years were 43 00:01:29,908 --> 00:01:29,805 having to do something without her , 44 00:01:29,815 --> 00:01:31,815 but how beautiful and how proud she 45 00:01:31,815 --> 00:01:33,926 would have been . And so that day , I 46 00:01:33,926 --> 00:01:35,982 will always , always be grateful for 47 00:01:35,982 --> 00:01:38,148 the Air Force getting to go to the Air 48 00:01:38,148 --> 00:01:40,259 Force Academy wearing this ring , the 49 00:01:40,259 --> 00:01:42,371 people that I got to stand beside and 50 00:01:42,371 --> 00:01:44,371 now entering into a much larger Air 51 00:01:44,371 --> 00:01:46,537 Force . And I can't wait for more days 52 00:01:46,537 --> 00:01:46,309 on my career like that because I know 53 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:48,541 there's so much more that the Air Force 54 00:01:48,541 --> 00:01:50,708 has to offer to me , to my family , to 55 00:01:50,708 --> 00:01:52,819 my loved ones . And I just , I'm just 56 00:01:52,819 --> 00:01:53,419 so excited after that day .