P
“My first solo flight was
probably the single best hour
of my life so far, and the total
experience was the best eight
weeks of my life. I have made
lifelong friends that I plan to
stay in contact with and, as a
result of the program, I am now
on my way to having a lifelong
career in aviation.”
ine-Richland Air Force Senior
ROTC cadet Jared Slack was
selected to attend a flight
academy this summer as one
of only 120 cadets around the world to
receive the Cadet Flight Scholarship.
Jared, 17, is the son of Lee and Kevin
Slack. As a senior, he’s very involved at
Pine-Richland High School as well as
in the community. He’s on the varsity
lacrosse team, where he is starting goalie
and a team officer, a member of the
National Honor Society, and a volunteer
with the Greater Pittsburgh Community
Food Bank and St. Anne’s Home in Greensburg. He’s also
involved in AFJROTC—earning squadron commander rank for
the upcoming year.
The cockpit of the 172s that Jared flew.
“Being a part of AFJROTC allows me to be involved in many
activities including Drill team, model rocketry, Kitty Hawk Air
Society (Academic Honor Society) and various community
service programs,” says Jared. “My AFJROTC instructors—
Chief Master Sergeant Michael Gasparetto and Major Michael
Morrison—are my favorite teachers because they work with me
and with every cadet in the unit to try to really get to know them
and their individual needs. They also strive to make the classes as
beneficial and as engaging as possible.”
This summer, Jared received the Cadet Flight Scholarship,
aimed at reinvigorating interest in the field of aviation in both
the civilian and military sectors. “There’s a worldwide shortage
of pilots, and this past year the Air Force decided to establish this
scholarship to get high school students interested in aviation,” he
explains.
“The application process was long and rather difficult, similar
to a college application,” Jared continues. “Each candidate
had to go through several steps, an initial nomination from
their AFJROTC instructors, a written application and the
Airman Qualification Test (AQT). The AQT consists of several
areas ranging from complex math to
aviation knowledge. After all of this
was complete, we had to submit the
application to the Air Force and wait for
a letter of acceptance or denial.”
The scholarship is open to all
AFJROTC cadets, and about 700 were
chosen to apply, with 120 scholarships
awarded. Earning the scholarship took
a massive financial burden off of Jared’s
family, as it costs about $10,000 to
receive a private pilot’s license.
“After I received the scholarship, I was
given a list of colleges that participated in
the program and I had to rank them based on preference. I placed
Purdue University at the top of the list,” says Jared, who was
accepted into his desired program.
A typical day consisted of waking up at 0700 and getting
breakfast, leaving the dorms at 0820 and having ground school at
the airport with Professor Dillman until about 1030, then waiting
for flight slots, and working on an online private pilot course,
Jeppesen, with any downtime.
“We flew at least one time every day for 1.5 hours and every
other day we had double flight slots and flew 3 hours a day,” Jared
adds. He was the second to graduate out of every cadet accepted
into the program across the United States.
Jared plans to attend either the Air Force Academy or Naval
Academy in the future, and to continue to fly once a week on
weekends, taking family and friends along for the ride.
“We are very proud of Jared,” say his parents. “It has been
his dream since he was 2 years old to fly, and thanks to PRHS
AFJROTC, USAF and Purdue University that dream has been
realized.”
“My first solo flight was probably the single best hour of my
life so far, and the total experience was the best eight weeks of my
life,” says Jared. “I have made lifelong friends that I plan to stay in
contact with, and as a result of the program I am now on my way
to having a lifelong career in aviation.” n
All 20 of the JROTC students graduating from Purdue.
PINE-RICHLAND
❘
FALL 2018
19