Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Accepted into all four service academies, LLHS graduate opts for the Air Force

Kenn Rodriguez News-Bulletin Staff Writer; krodriguez@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas Colton Cash said he'd dreamed of going to the Air Force Academy since he and his family visited it when he was a sixth grader.

In a few weeks, Cash - the son of John and Michelle Osowski of Los Lunas and Jim and Theresa Cash of Farmington - will begin living that dream when he reports for basic Cadet training in Colorado Springs, Colo., on June 28.

Cash said his desire to attend the Air Force Academy was fueled by its reputation.

"Basically, there's a lot of prestige in its academic categories, its facilities and the athletic teams," he said. "It's an all-around great school."

Cash was accepted into all four of the United States service academies - the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., the Military (Army) Academy in West Point, N.Y., the Merchant Marines Academy in Kingsport, N.Y. and the Air Force Academy.

"I'm proud of myself for doing that, for sure," Cash said of garnering four nominations. "The academies are very prestigious. When I received nominations to all four, I couldn't believe had actually done that."

Cash said he received congressional nominations from U. S. Sens Jeff Bingaman and Pete Dominici and U. S. Reps. Steve Pierce and Heather Wilson.

He also received letters of recommendation from University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus Advisory Board Member Paul Luna, retired State Rep. Fred Luna, Los Lunas Schools Superintendent Walt Gibson and former Los Lunas High School principal Gina Sallie.

He also received a full-tuition scholarship from the Army ROTC to attend Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

Cash said he heard first from Annapolis and was set to accept that appointment - but gave himself a deadline of early April to hear from the Air Force Academy.

"That was an incredible afternoon," he said of the day he found out he'd been accepted by the Air Force Academy. "Because before that, I had been accepted to Annapolis: I decided if I didn't receive anything from the Air Force by April 7, I'd go to Annapolis. I didn't want to wait too long for that.

"When the Air Force Academy nomination came in, I was very excited about that."

Cash graduated with honors from Los Lunas High and was the captain of the soccer team this year. He also participated in track during his time as a Tiger.

In addition to athletics, he was involved in student government and was a member of the National Honor Society.

Asked to name his favorite classes, he cited video production with teacher Rick Cole, English with Natalie Saiz and economics taught by Guy Glover.

"I met a lot of great students and teachers," he said. "I got lucky; I had really great teachers. They definitely helped me prepare for the vigor I'm going to have to face in the next coming semesters."

Cash, who was born in Farmington and moved to Los Lunas in the fifth grade, attended Raymond Gabaldon Intermediate School and Los Lunas Middle School before heading to Los Lunas High School.

He said that anyone considering trying to get an appointment to a U.S. service academy should get involved in both the school and community.

"Always take the AP (Advanced Placement) courses and take part in a lot of extracurricular activities," he advised. "Try to be an officer or leader in activities and be involved in community service as much as possible. Get your name well known in the community.

"I helped at the high school by helping teachers clean classrooms. I also (refereed) soccer games for AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization), and I've done Trek for Trash a bunch of times."

Upon graduation from the academy in 2011, Cash will enter the U.S Air Force as a second lieutenant and serve a minimum of six years active duty.

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