Local teenager accepts appointment to USAF Academy

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – Only 10% of applicants receive an appointment to the Air Force Academy. Fewer than 1,300 cadets are accepted into the United States Air Force Academy each year. 19-year-old Carter Miller has been working for years to achieve this goal.

Carter said he was interested in the Air Force Academy in high school, but took it seriously during his freshman year of high school. He said: “That’s when I realized that this is what I really wanted.”

However, it was not an easy road for him. The Air Force Academy has a rigorous approval and application process that takes years to complete.

When asked about the application process, Carter said, “You have to be a very well-rounded person. I mean academically, morally, as well as physically. There are a lot of moving parts in this program.”

But even after years of hard work, dedication and perseverance, Carter still ran into roadblocks.

“So last year, my senior year, I got an initial rejection,” Carter recalled. , they offered me this place. I’m so glad I went there.”

Carter excelled at Marion Military Academy. He even landed a role as an influential member of the Swamp Fox special operations training team.

News 11 asked Carter how he felt after being denied his first appointment to the academy.

She said, “I was so surprised because you know, I worked for it for a while and then I had to change my whole act. I was getting ready to go to Mississippi State University. I already went to orientation, signed up for all my classes. And they sent me a message saying, ‘Hey, we’re sorry about this, but here’s an offer. I hope it is not too late.” and i was like i’ll take it. “

Carter wants young people in our area to see her story as an inspiration to never give up. He’s proof that it’s never a bad idea to keep working towards your dreams. Carter knows that if it weren’t for some very influential people in his life, he probably wouldn’t have achieved as much.

“Mom and dad, of course,” Carter said. It didn’t matter if I wanted to be a professional knitter. You know, they were there every step of the way. And also, the late coach Hampton, he’s the one who got me into physical activity, really into the gym.”

After graduating from the Academy, Carter hopes to become a combat survival officer, part of the USAF’s special operations forces.

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