After fitness assessments, 350 hours of volunteer work and numerous attempts at obtaining satisfactory test scores, senior Antonio Nazario has been accepted to the U.S. Air Force Academy with a full ride scholarship.

“I am honored that I was accepted into such a prestigious academy,” Nazario said.

Competition to get into the Academy is stiff.  Of the nearly 13,000 students who apply every year, only about 1,400 are admitted.

Fulfilling his dream of joining the Air Force Academy was no easy journey for Nazario.   First of all, he needed a large number of volunteer hours. When he applied, he had 350 hours of community service and by the end of the year he will have 450. Other than that, there were no specific requirements, though he said he had to be well rounded in his community, his school and in his interests.

To kick off the application process, Nazario had to shadow a cadet and tour the campus in Colorado Springs, Colorado. An admissions liaison officer worked with him to complete his admissions process.

After numerous attempts to obtain a satisfactory score on the ACT and SAT, he achieved a promising ACT score of 20 and an SAT score of 1,311. He then tackled the physical exams known as the Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA).

Following the fitness assessment Nazario had to endure a medical and eye exam. He then had to find topics for an essay that was to be reviewed by at least two teachers.  He decided to write about the skills he has, why he wants to go to the academy and what he has been through that he has learned from.

“I rewrote my essay about 20 times. Although it was frustrating, it was worth it,” Nazario said.

The last step he had to go through was to apply for nominations from all possible sources, such as local representatives or senators, to show the academy what type of person he is from an outside point of view. He ended up getting a personal endorsement from the local congressman, U.S. Representative Mike Honda.

Once Nazario finishes four years of training to be an Air Force officer and receives a bachelor’s degree, he will come out of the academy as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He is required to serve for eight years after graduating and he wants to work for the OSI (Office of Special Investigation), which is similar to being a detective or working for the security forces. The security force is the military police that are in charge of base security.

Nazario said that making it into the AirForceAcademy was a great moment in his life. Working hard to accomplish his dream, Nazario set himself up for the rest of his life.

“I am happy that all my hard work paid off,” said Nazario. “My parents are excited that my dream finally came true.”