After planning for months to attend the University of Iowa to try-out for the baseball team, senior Dominic Dingess changed his plans at the last minute to join the Air Force. He shared his plans with the school on the day of his senior speech, carefully detailing his timeline of enrollment to the surprised audience, including his own mother.

“I chose to enlist in the Air Force for a few reasons,” he said. “The first of which was a love of my country. The second was that I wanted to have the honor that came with wearing the uniform, serving my country, protecting the freedom of others, and being a part of something bigger than myself. The third was just a genuine interest in being close to airplanes.”

Although Dingess was given the opportunity to play D1 Baseball at a top school, he chose a different path because something just didn’t feel right. He had always planned on using college as a stepping stone into the Air Force, but he ”wanted to enter the military the right way and knew officers that started out at the bottom and worked their way up garner much more respect than those who were never enlisted.”

Dingess starts his training in July. He will go to Basic Training at the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and go through eight and a half weeks of training.

Both his parents were supportive of his decision to join the Air Force. Dingess’ father, Jack Dingess, was an Army ranger in the military. ”My father is very proud of me for choosing this path to the military,” Dominic Dingess said.

On Dec. 6, Dingess took his official oath of enlistment. “As of last week I completed my necessary medical qualifications, and took my official ASVAB, (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude battery),” he said. “I scored a 98 on my ASVAB and a perfect 100 on my medical exam. This means I am qualified for any enlisted job in the USAF.”