Detroit Lakes grad bound for Air Force Academy

For most recent high school graduates, the months after they get their diploma are a chance to hang out with friends, maybe take a job, and slowly make preparations to leave home for college in the fall.

But 2011 Detroit Lakes High School graduate Marie Yokan will be spending the next couple of months in basic training, in preparation for enrollment at the United States Air Force Academy in the fall.

“It will be five weeks of rigor,” she said.

Marie, the daughter of Dr. Nicholas and Janet Yokan of Detroit Lakes, was admitted to the USAFA for fall semester 2011 after a lengthy and competitive application process.

“There were so many forms!” she said.

Besides maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.7 or better, filling leadership roles in school clubs and sports, church and other youth organizations, and possessing good writing and math skills, prospective USAFA cadets are expected to fill out hundreds of pages of online application forms and pass a rigorous physical fitness test.

In addition, Marie needed to get an official Congressional nomination. The nomination, which is required for admission to the USAFA, must come from a U.S. senator, representative or the current vice president.

In Marie’s case, U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson of Detroit Lakes provided the honors. Not only is the competition for admission to the Academy quite intense, but there are many people vying for the Congressional endorsement as well, she noted.

“Congressman Peterson thought she was the right person,” said Marie’s mother, Janet Yokan.

“Most applicants have a GPA of 3.9 to 4.0, and most are lettered athletes,” said Marie, who competed as a runner at DLHS as a junior before deciding to attend classes at Concordia College in Moorhead for her senior year, through the post-secondary enrollment option (PSEO) program.

The fitness test is also quite difficult, she said, adding, “You want to be in good shape (before applying).”

Still, Marie noted, the many and varied opportunities offered by a USAFA education make the lengthy and complicated application process worth the effort.

“I’ll be studying science,” she said, noting that while she’s interested in both physics and engineering, she hasn’t quite decided on a career path.

Aeronautics, parachuting, skydiving, study abroad programs — all of these intriguing options and more are available to students at the USAFA, and Marie would like to explore a few of them further before deciding on a career.

Failing your initial PT test at training could get you sent home!

As per 2.2.1. IAW AFI 36-2905, Para 6.1.1.,”enlistees failing to meet 1.5 mile run times of 18:30 for males and 21:35 for females upon arrival at BMT are deemed medically unable to safely rehabilitate to a passing fitness assessment score within the standard 42-day rehabilitation period. They may be immediately processed for entry level separation pursuant to AFI 36-3208, Administrative Separation of Airmen.

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