Entering the Arena
Cadet Irizarry is experiencing Zero Gravity during a parabolic flight, part of the Air Force Academy’s inaugural Azimuth Space Force Summer Program.
Cadet Irizarry had the opportunity to spend a semester at the United States Air Force Academy as part of the Cadet Exchange Program in Fall 2022.
Cadet Irizarry helped train and prepare cadets for tactical exercises during her semester as an Exchange Student at the Air Force Academy.
Cadet Irizarry is proud of her Puerto Rican heritage and the unique bonds she has built with Hispanic cadets across the country.
As a Cadet Training Assistant at Field Training 2023, Cadet Irizarry mentored 36 cadets who are now achieving great things in Detachments across the country.
Whenever I failed, I recalled what originally inspired me on this journey: a mentor who challenged me to see myself as a leader. I wished that someday I could be that catalyst for someone else. With this in mind, I persevered, conquering challenges and obstacles. Was I perfect? Absolutely not! Accepting that fact freed me from my fears of failure and propelled me to pursue excellence in academics, physical fitness, and leadership.
ROTC has been a tough road of personal and professional growth. I’ve faced my share of disappointments. And I’ve had many unique opportunities, like attending the US Air Force Academy as an exchange student. My experiences would mean nothing without the people who led and supported me along the way. I entered this arena to become a stepping stone for others to achieve their goals.
My journey came full circle. This June, I was back on a plane to Alabama for Field Training, not as a trainee, but as a trainer. Preparing for my first day on the job, fear and impostor syndrome crept in. But how? I had received awards, operated satellites, trained cadets at the Air Force Academy! How could I feel unqualified? My successes and especially my failures made me qualified as a trainer! Over the next six weeks, I had the honor of leading thirty-six cadets through Field Training, nine of them finishing as Distinguished Graduates.
No award or experience compares to the joy of seeing someone overcome their fears and challenges. As I prepare to commission next spring, I am excited to enter a new arena as an Air Force officer. New and unknown obstacles await. I am hungry for the challenge, the change it brings, and the people I will grow alongside.
By Sophia Irizarry
Air Force ROTC Cadet, University of Texas at San Antonio (Detachment 842)
Bachelor of Business Administration in Cyber Security
The clock said 3:00 a.m. My plane would leave in a few hours, but fear and anxiety kept sleep away. I was headed to Air Force ROTC Field Training to be plunged into an environment of intentional chaos, physical stress, and the relentless heat of an Alabama summer. As a trainee, I would face complex situations, under the eye of trainers evaluating my every move. My heart pounded, and questions flooded my head. “How did I get here? Why am I doing this? Did I come this far to fail?”
I am a Puerto Rican born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, but I don’t come from a “military family.” Even so, my parents — who moved to the continental US, and started a small business — exemplified what I would later learn are the Air Force core values: “Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do.” They were living proof that those values are rewarded, and they held me to that high standard. As the Airman’s Creed would say, I was already “faithful to a proud heritage.”
Finishing high school, I faced a decision: attend college or follow my desire to serve by enlisting. “Do both,” my parents encouraged, so I joined Air Force ROTC, to earn a degree while training to become a military officer.
As a new cadet at Detachment 842 at the University of Texas at San Antonio, I made countless mistakes. As an introvert, I was terrified to lead a team of 20 strangers! As a perfectionist, the constant feedback and correction were humiliating.