Former graduate returns to Monument Valley High School to share his post-high school experience. Matthew Hale is now Captain of the United States Air Force and is currently an F-16 fighter pilot. He let the 50 students in attendance know his roots began in Kayenta, AZ and his mother and father are teachers in the Kayenta Unified School District. He shared with the students his clans, his extra-curricular sports activities while in high school, and then offered advice for students to succeed in life. First, Capt Hale spoke about the various pathways in the military, whether through the Enlisted route or the Officer side; both have their merits. In the instance of Capt Hale, he joined the Air Force by applying for the Air Force Academy, which is a public university and a military service academy valued at $416,000.
The Air Force Academy has more than 4,000 cadets with over 30 programs of study. High school students can apply as long as they are at least 17 years old, unmarried, and have no children. Additionally, potential students must meet high academic, physical, character, and medical standards to be eligible for an appointment. Once accepted, students are enrolled in a 47-month academic plan where Capt Hale was able to major in Civil Engineering and earn a minor in Biology.
Upon his graduation, Capt Hale was selected and trained to be a pilot in the United States Air Force. Right now, Capt Hale is stationed at Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, South Korea. As such, he shared with the students some samples of learned Korean language, his favorite Korean cuisine, and even some K-pop culture that included concerts, bands, and even anime characters. Overall, Capt Hale demonstrated to the students that no matter the career, roles, or location; we’re able to maintain our sense of identity from childhood through adulthood. We may learn new things, meet new people, and gain new experiences, our roots will remain the same.
When asked “what would you advise your younger (high school) self?”, Matt did not hesitate to reply with “sleep …. make sure you get about 8 hours of sleep”. He learned this lesson after the academy where he normally stayed up until 3am to finish projects or assignments. Sleep helped Capt Hale to re-energize and re-focus his energy on meeting the demands of each day. Additionally, Capt Hale insisted high school students to have goals, focus on those goals and work towards those goals. It was an honor to have Captain Matthew Hale visit our school, meet his former teachers, and inspire a new generation of Mustangs because “Once a Mustang, Always a Mustang”.
JON J. SOMBRERO, MSgt, USAF (Ret)
Aerospace Science Instructor
Monument Valley High School, AZ-20181