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The United States Air Force Academy Assembly was an amazing experience I owe to the McConnell Center’s two Army War College Fellows, Col. Karen Rutka and LTC Kimberly Pringle, and the rest of our wonderful staff. Dyllan Tipton, McConnell Scholar Class of 2026, and I flew out to Colorado Springs nervous and uncertain of what to expect of the next week.
This year’s USAFA Assembly was titled “Waging Peace on the Final Frontier: Shaping the Future of Space Policy and Defense.” Let me be honest, before I was accepted to this conference, I knew basically nothing about space. My knowledge was limited to the big dipper and a little bit about Elon Musk’s Space X endeavors. Being a political science and psychology scholar, space was far outside my comfort zone.
This is why I applied: to expand my horizons, and to be pushed past my limits. For me, college has been a place to invest more in my passions, deepening my knowledge about what I already loved. I learned more about my Bible, I became fascinated by the intricacies of psychology, and I dove headfirst into the world of politics, working directly on a campaign. This experience at the USAFA, I knew, was different. I challenged myself to have a posture of learning and to acknowledge my ignorance on the deep intricacies of space, hoping to come away with more information and a better understanding of the exploration and development of space capabilities.
I can say that I did learn more about space; I learned about FCC licenses, the Outer Space Treaty, development of the newest technologies, the danger of space debris, creating a bipartisan, international space experience, the use of commercial space capabilities in war and peacetime, and the importance of being prepared for space as a potential warfront. The list does not end there.
But, most importantly, I learned a lot of names. Names of space treaties and companies and regulations, sure. But my favorite names, the ones I won’t forget, are of people.
I learned Tyler’s name on my first flight to Denver; our final destinations were different, but we spent the entire three-hour flight talking about our interests and our histories and our beliefs. Tyler told Dyllan and I about his organic eating habits, his expensive water filter, and his soda stream which he uses to make his own organic carbonated drinks. I asked him about the book he had gotten out, Building the Cathedral, and we dove into a conversation about faith and believing in a bigger purpose. Tyler and I are very different people, but we bonded over our desire to help people lead happier, more fulfilling lives. Tyler impacted my life.
I met Kelsey when I first arrived at the Academy, and I would stay with her for the next three days. Initially, Kelsey and I bonded over our love for abnormal psychology, but later we found our beliefs to be quite different. However, we came to an easy conclusion that the base for our diverging opinions was foundationally the same: we both wanted to love people well. Kelsey is busy, successful, and intelligent, but most importantly, she is kind and welcoming. Thanks to her, I never felt on the outside during my time at USAFA, and she most definitely impacted my life.
I learned Daniel’s name (or as Dyllan came to call him, Mr. Intelligence Man) after eavesdropping on an interesting conversation about the Old Testament. We quickly bonded over our shared faith and came to learn more about each other’s families, hometowns, and future interests. Being a space lover, he kept me up to date on the many confusing acronyms and references. More importantly, he made sure myself and other delegates were always taken care of. I quickly learned that Daniel would do about anything to help another person, and we even bonded over our Enneagram 2 tendencies. Daniel became a great friend and impacted my life deeply in just three short days.
I learned so many new names: Anthony, Shabri, Peyton, Evan, Julia, Graham, Shane, Kayla, Milan, and Connor are only a few on a long list. Each one of them impacted my life.
Most of them I will never see again, but each taught me something new, shared with me an interesting perspective, experienced a part of life with me, or put a smile on my face.
This is why the McConnell Center is the greatest blessing in my life. I do not simply learn more about Plato, dive deep into political debate, or push myself beyond my academic comfort zone. I also meet new people, experience new places, and live a more exciting, challenging, and fulfilling college life.
Colorado Springs is gorgeous, and the snow during my trip was a work of God. Space is fascinating, and I feel a little bit more prepared for readings, conversations, and political debate about space development and use (as I learned, space is highly political and becomes more so every day). The people I met inspired me and I leave the Academy a more well-rounded individual because of them, and I do not mean to forget the many wonderful military and civilian leaders who took their time to expand my knowledge.
Thank you, McConnell Center for such wonderful opportunities. Thank you, USAFA for hosting an educational and expansive event. Thank you, God, for allowing my path to cross with so many wonderful people.