Saratoga News
Cover Story
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Reese Williams has dreamed for many years of becoming a pilot. When he was just 7 years old, he created an art project in school that delivered the message: 'What I want to be ... pilot.'
Air Male
Reese Williams is flying high as a cadet at the Air Force Academy
By Marianne Lucchesi Hamilton
Reese Williams' plans are pretty much up in the air. In his case, that's a good thing.
Since he's been home for his short summer break, the Saratoga native has been doing what most college students do: catching up with friends, visiting Great America and hanging out. Oh, and sleeping. Lots of sleeping.
But there the similarities to his peers come to an abrupt end. While his classmates from Lynbrook High School will head back to various UC campuses and weekend parties in the fall, Williams will hop a plane soon for Colorado Springs and the start of his second year at the U.S. Air Force Academy. In the future, Williams hopes to be at the controls of some type of aircraft himself--as a combat pilot.
To those in the know, Williams' accomplishment in gaining entrance into the academy can only be described as remarkable. Landing one of the 1,300 available spots each year (for which nearly 30,000 high school seniors compete) requires a rigorous, nearly yearlong application process, which must document an impeccable combination of academic and athletic prowess, physical fitness and strong personal character. Also, there's the little matter of garnering a congressional nomination. But as family members, friends, teachers and former Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta agree, there was never much doubt that Williams would be among the academy's class of 2010.
From the time he was a small child, Reese Morgan Williams IV knew he wanted to fly. He didn't tie on a cape and jump off the top bunk. Instead, the future Air Force cadet--who insisted that books read to him at bedtime feature stories about space, science and travel--set his alarm to ensure he could catch 3 a.m. space shuttle launches. When coverage of NASA and space travel came on the evening news, young Reese was all eyes and ears.
"CNN became his favorite station, which is pretty unusual for a child," recalls his father, Reese Williams III, a Silicon Valley business development manager and Saratoga High School and UC-Davis alum. "When we saw him watching these types of stories, it dawned on us that this was an interest he wanted to pursue. He was especially fascinated by news items about the military, and high-tech systems and aircraft."
Mom Fran, a real estate escrow coordinator who graduated from Homestead High and UC-Davis, still has an art project her son made in the second grade. Decorated with his 7-year-old drawings, the paper cube lists his dislikes ("homework and my brother"), his likes ("pizza, computers and airplanes") and his dream for the future ("I want to be a pilot"). Even in his first year of school, says former Blue Hills Elementary School teacher Cheryl Brown, Williams' career was mapped out. "At our 'graduation ceremony,' I always had the parents come for a party and gave my predictions for their future. I predicted that Reese would be an aeronautical engineer or a pilot. He was always into flight."
During Williams' middle school years, the idea of a career in the sky began to take shape. His parents advised him that the most direct route to becoming an engineer, pilot or astronaut was to become an Air Force officer and aviator. "At the time," says his dad, "it was simply an over-the-top stretch goal that parents throw out to keep their kids motivated in school. To him it was, 'OK, I can do that.' Little did we know, he hatched a plan completely on his own to attain that goal."
Williams set out to realize his dream in typically methodical style. After a childhood spent taking toys and other objects apart to see what made them work, and an addiction to computer flight-simulation games (a passion that his mom says began before he was potty-trained), Williams set forth a plan of attack with ... well, military precision.
By his freshman year at Lynbrook, Williams had thoroughly researched the academy via the Internet, and had a clear picture of the rigorous selection criteria he had to meet. "The more I learned, the more I wanted to do it," Williams says. "I always knew I wanted to fly; I thought it was something I'd be good at, especially being a fighter pilot. When I was a freshman, I heard about the Air Force Academy and decided to go for it."
A visit to Colorado during his junior year, which enabled Williams to shadow a cadet for a day, cemented his decision. "I expected him to be intrigued," Fran says. "But he was absolutely transfixed. He was grasping every moment, absorbing every word in every speech we sat through. Normally he's pretty low-key about everything, but I could see that spark of excitement in his eyes."
During his visit, Williams gained a vital nugget of knowledge: Several of the cadets suggested he join the Civil Air Patrol, an all-volunteer Air Force auxiliary organization. Through its chapters across the U.S., the CAP offers youths the chance to get a glimpse of Air Force life. Members learn techniques for search and rescue and disaster relief, and receive firsthand experience with gliders and powered aircraft. Uniforms, marching in formation and familiarity with military protocol are heavily stressed.
"The day we got home, Reese logged on, found the local chapter and became a member," Fran notes. "We'd never heard of the Civil Air Patrol. But he really took to heart everything the cadets told him, because that's where he wanted to be."
Though by then used to his son's focus, the older Williams admits he was floored by the way in which his offspring tackled each hurdle on his path to the academy.
"We thought he joined the wrestling team because his friends were doing it," his father recalls. "We thought he signed up for the toughest academic path because ... well, because many Lynbrook kids do that. We assumed he worked at the Youth Science Institute during the summer because it was fun and outdoors. Plus, there were the jobs building websites, and leading student clubs and councils.
"And then we got it--check, check, check. Reese was going right down the list of every one of the academy's entry requirements: academics, physical fitness and community service."
By his senior year, Williams was captain of Lynbrook's wrestling team. He was consistently ranked in the top 20 in the Central Coast Section, and placed fifth at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League finals. At graduation he received the 2006 Lynbrook Coaches' Award, given for a combination of performance, positive attitude, hard work and exemplary leadership qualities. Somehow he also found time to produce the requisite GPA, SAT and ACT scores that the Academy demands of its applicants.
Check, check, check.
While wrestling his way into the record books, Williams was also muscling his way through the academy's application process. Over a nine-month period during his senior year, Williams became one of 10,000 candidates who "get invited to apply," then began assembling the massive life history and academic, athletic and medical summary necessary to pass muster. He was required to include technical evaluations from several teachers, provide corroboration of his fitness level from his coaches and supply thorough verification of his health from a team of doctors.
Perhaps the most challenging part of the process was the need to secure a nomination from either a member of Congress (House or Senate) or the vice president. This requirement launched still more months of letter- and essay-writing, flurries of phone calls and endless rounds of interviews. When the dust finally settled, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, bestowed upon Williams the highly sought-after status of "principal nomination." For every 10 candidates applying for a vacancy at a service academy, only one candidate is so designated. In almost every case, the principal nominee receives an appointment to his or her academy of choice, assuming all qualifying criteria are met.
Contacted recently, Eshoo said: "Reese Williams is a young man with strong character and clear leadership abilities who is always challenging himself by setting the bar higher, then doing what it takes to clear it. His passion for flying and his commitment to public service made him an outstanding candidate for the Air Force Academy and for military service, and that's why I'm so proud to have nominated him to the academy."
Mineta may well have had a hand in Eshoo's decision, having sent her a personal recommendation for Williams.
"It's one thing to want something, and another thing to earn it," Mineta wrote. "Reese's record shows that he is worthy of and ready for the challenges that lie ahead. In addition to impressive accomplishments as a leader, scholar, athlete and volunteer, he possesses the right temperament and work ethic to excel at the academy and in his chosen career as an Air Force aviator."
Even with such high-powered influencers on his side, Williams admits he wasn't entirely sure he'd get to wear the cadet uniform. "I was pretty nervous. I had to wait about four months to hear back during my senior year, and had no idea if I'd be accepted. In the meantime, my parents kept bugging me to apply to other colleges, just in case."
Though Williams was loathe to consider any other institutions, his parents eventually convinced him that not limiting himself to the academy would be a wise move. "It was a supreme exercise of our parenting skills to say, 'Hey, it's only 50 bucks to fill out an application; let's throw a few around,' " his dad says with a laugh. "Even though we wanted to be completely supportive, we also wanted to be realistic about Reese's chances of getting in."
Soon, acceptance notices came pouring in from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (Williams' second choice), UC campuses and state colleges. But the only envelope that Williams cared about finally arrived in February 2006. A few months later, at Lynbrook's annual awards ceremony, an Air Force officer surprised Williams and his family with a personal visit to welcome him into the academy. In his speech, the official noted the monetary value of the four-year, full-ride scholarship Williams had earned. "He said Reese's college education was worth approximately $450,000," Fran marvels. "That includes everything from clothes to school books to food and lodging, as well as the monthly stipend the cadets receive."
Tech. Sgt. Angelique McDonald of the academy's public affairs office notes that 15.5 percent of all new cadets drop out during their first year; by graduation a starting class of 1,300 may lose as many as 500 cadets. But Williams says he's in it for the long haul.
With basic training and the other grueling aspects of his first year now under his belt, he's taking a well-deserved rest before reporting back to Jack's Valley, a wooded area near the academy, for his "global engagement" training. There Williams and his classmates will spend three weeks clad in chemical-warfare gear, alternately being pelted with teargas and learning survival techniques under the most extreme conditions. After months of scampering double-time (running) to classes while carrying books in his left hand (bags carried on the back are forbidden for freshmen), eating meals silently and at attention, using only the back stairs and enduring the constant, in-your-face taunts (at full volume) of upperclassmen, Williams relishes the prospect of turning the tables on the new crop of cadets who arrived in June.
Williams says he's prepared for whatever the academy--and the world's conflicts--may have in store. With the love and support of his family, and the world-class education he's receiving in Colorado, he feels he's up to the challenge of protecting his country.
"My training has been very motivational," Williams says. "During our time at the academy, we learn about various war heroes and what they did; it makes me want to strive to be like them. I feel like I'm getting the skills I need to prepare myself for battle if necessary. And if the war's still going on when I'm out, I'll be ready."
At her firstborn's words, Fran's eyes well up. "We're here to support him and cheer him on," she says quietly. "I'll always be his mom, so I'll always worry about him. But we know he's there because he wants to be. And for us as parents, that's all that really matters."
"He's never shirked from what he might be facing, and we had no doubt that he'd make it," says Reese's dad, gazing at a framed photo of his son in dress uniform. Then, in a voice choked with emotion, he adds simply, "We're very, very proud of Reese."
Eshoo's office notes that readers may find more information about service academy nominations in the 'constituent services' section of her website, located at http://eshoo.house.gov.
