Taking Flight

Most seniors around this time plan for what college they are going to and what they are going to major in. The only difference for seniors Mattie Germann and Elizabeth Barnickel is that they will be in preparing to serve their country after college graduation.

Both Germann and Barnickel chose to attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Since her dad and brother are in the Navy, Germann has always had the influence of serving in the military. She didn’t always know that this is what her future will hold, but as the end of her high school career approaches she can’t be more excited for the experience. Although her brother’s horror stories about training at the Naval school shocked her at first, she now looks forward to submerging herself in an academy that she says will prepare her better than anything for service and life in general. For Germann, this decision is more drastic than the regular selection process for college.

“I’m agreeing to put my life on the line,” Germann said. “It’s different than saying I’m going to go become a sorority girl at Mizzou, it’s something much deeper than that.”

This summer, Germann attended three summer sessions preparing her for what basic training and each service academy would be like. After attending the sessions for the Army, Air Force and Navy, she decided that she liked the Air Force the best because of the different opportunities it offered. Germann was one of the few who was asked to attend all three. One of the deciding factors of this was their engineering program, which is ranked in the top ten best in the country.

When she returned home from the summer sessions she applied to all three academies, and she received acceptance letters from West Point and the Air Force Academy.

Following her acceptance to the Air Force in late November, she decided in January that this was what she wanted to do and signed on to be a part of the Class of 2019. The reason it took her time to decide was because it was signing on to risk her life for her country and to serve for a minimum of five years. The decision was easier for her because she knew what it could provide her in future management careers.

“You get all this life experience and you’re just able to communicate with people so much better,” source said. “Such as being a manager or other occurrences like that you’re able to communicate things that need to get done.”

Although her family has served for the Navy not the Air Force, they all supported her decision. When seeing what the different areas of services could provide, Germann selected the air force because it will be more beneficial to her future. Especially since Germann hopes to have a career in aerospace engineering.

Barnickel won state in tennis and has now agreed to be a part of the tennis team at the Air Force Academy. When she heard Germann talk about how much fun she had had over the summer at the three summer sessions, she first became curious. Shortly after talking with Germann, she received a letter in the mail from the head tennis coach of the Academy. After an exchange of emails between the two, Barnickel went on an official visit to the Academy. She was well greeted and pleased to find many amenities, such as being able to take scuba classes and golf on one of their two 18-hole golf courses. The Academy is also one of the top engineering and business schools in the country, which is something that draws Barnickel’s attention, as she hopes to major in one of the two. Although the best feature for Barnickel is being able to serve.

“The opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself, to serve my country is why I am so excited to attend the academy.” Barnickel said.

Even though Barnickel has not received her formal acceptance letter, her connection with the tennis program and her application meeting all requirements makes it clear to her that she will be a part of the Academy’s Class of 2019.

Germann and Barnickel will not be able to visit their families as much as other college students due to the distance and the limited times available to leave the base. However from the people they have already met through visits to the Academy and summer sessions, both are excited to spend more time with the other students there. Even the tennis coach has helped Barnickel feel more comfortable.

“I went on my visit [to the Academy] alone,” source said. “But [head tennis coach (Kim) Gidley] came out to regionals in high school tennis and met my whole family.”

As the end of the school year approaches, Germann and Barnickel prepare just like all the other seniors to leave home for a new adventure even though, their experience will be different than most. They will go through basic training — which Germann says involves a lot of early mornings and yelling — along with classes to help position them in service after graduation and a more than usual amount of life experience in the very beginning of their adult lives. Serving their country and putting their lives on the line is what will make Germann and Barnickel’s experiences so different from the rest.