The class of 2014, to say the least, has left a lasting impression of Air Academy High School’s legacy. From the start of their freshman year, the class of 2014 has made it clear that they mean business. Their first involvement in the historically popular Kadet spirit week prior to homecoming, the class of red won the spirit stick against all odds that a freshmen class would win. Additionally, the class of 2014 continued to make an impact in Air Academy’s history with their contributions to the success of different teams and organizations, including, but not limited to: Justin Petrash’s state wrestling title, the Air Academy band’s consecutive winnings of the state title for the past four years, numerous victories for the Forensics team, Boys’ Soccer and Girls’ Volleyball state runner ups, and potential state runs from teams in the spring sports category. Looking back on their “glory days” in high school, the class of 2014 will have a lot of accomplishments to reflect back on.

Air Academy High School, furthermore, takes pride in providing a quality, high-level education for students to prepare them for the next step in their lives. For the majority of the Kadet population, this next step includes attending some form of an educational institution for further schooling. Every year it is always quite intriguing to see what colleges across the nation and even the world our students select. According to the National Center of Education Statistics, in the United States alone, there are over four thousand degree-granting institutions to choose from, so variety is never an issue. Luckily, the students who attend Air Academy are exceptionally diverse themselves, with all kinds of talents ranging from athletes, to artists, musicians, to scholars, leaders, and many more. Finding a university that is compatible with each individual is a very special process and particularly fascinating to observe.

This year, the class of 2014 produced twenty-one student athletes committing to play their sport at the college level, nine of which committed to playing Division I for their sport. Athletics play a huge role in the Kadet culture, so such a high number student-athletes moving on to the college was a massive achievement for Air Academy. The athletics varied along with the schools. For example, a few of the student-athletes include: Jessica Berg, who committed to play Division I field hockey at Syracuse University, Kaley Holmes, who will play Division I lacrosse at Colorado University, Ally Fullerton, who will row at the Division I level at Kansas University, Brooke Braden, who will attend the University of Northern Colorado to play Division I soccer, and Johnny Sims and Gannon Gardner, who will also play Division I soccer – only these two seniors will play at the United States Air Force Academy.

Other students among the class of 2014 will attend additional big name schools this fall as well, Conner Claus recently confirmed his attendance at California Polytech State University, Colby Goldberg will join Ashleigh Elsner at Baylor University, Seaton Tilo and Katelyn Armbruster will attend Hawaii Pacific University, Natalie Berg will head to Oklahoma State University, Ally Berg committed to Iowa State University, Ryan Greenfield will go to the University of Oregon, Sam Chiacchia has committed to Princeton University, and Mary Kate Castellano and Tyler Bendrick will attend Creighton University. Amazing accomplishments made by each Kadet who earned these stellar opportunites.

Considering many Kadets choose to stay in state for their college career, a large majority choose to go to either Colorado State University in Fort Collins or the University of Colorado at Boulder. From playing on the same teams in high school, to being large rivals in college, life will soon change for the vast majority of our Kadets moving on to college.

From freshman year to senior year, the Class of 2014 has played a large role at Air Academy. When they won the spirit stick freshman year, to winning Powder Puff junior and senior year, the Class of 2014 have always been competitors. We all wish that our Kadets keep competing in the social and work aspects of their lives. We sincerely tip our hats to them, since they have made it to the end of their long high school careers. Farewell, Senior Class of 2014.