Photo By Sgt. Samuel Keenan | HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Air Force Cadet Nicolle Vella, a member of the...... read more read more
As students filed into the lecture hall, it was obvious that the 8 a.m. iteration of Political Science 308 was the first class for most of the pupils. Some looked like they had just rolled out of bed. Others clutched cups of coffee as if it were some sort of lifeline dangling from a raft in a stormy sea.
The majority of the University of Massachusetts students were dressed in a collage of collegiate gear, loungewear and luxury fashion brands. Even amongst the eclectic collection, a young woman stood out at the back of the classroom. She sported a blue tracksuit emblazoned with the words “United States Air Force.” Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and unlike her groggy classmates, she seemed full of energy. Her foot bounced up and down like an excited rabbit. One more cup of coffee may have led to her overdosing on caffeine.
Nicolle Vella’s boundless energy may have come from the fact that she had just come from an intense workout session. Twice a week, she and about 50 other student-cadets gather at an ungodly hour in a florescent-lit gymnasium to conduct physical training with the campus’ Air Force ROTC detachment while many of their peers are still asleep in their beds.
Vella doesn’t mind the early mornings and the extra responsibilities that comes with pursuing a commission while attend college. She is on a course to achieve her dream of commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force. However, Vella’s journey to this point in her life has been anything but a turbulent-free flight.
In a romantic moment of chance, Vella’s father, a US Air Force officer, met her mother, a Panamanian school teacher, in an online chatroom. After courting her from afar, Vella’s father traveled to the Central American country to meet his future bride for the first time. After three months the two were married. In 1993, Vella was born in her mother’s home country. She stayed there with her mother while her father flew around the globe as a navigator aboard an Air Force C-141.
When Vella was eight, she and her mother moved to the continental United States to join her father.
Her mother had finished her master’s degree and her father was finally stationed somewhere he would be for a while, said Vella.
“It was just the perfect time to settle down in one place,” said Vella. “Plus, my mom always wanted me to finish school and go to college here.”
When she arrived in Georgia where her father was stationed, Vella started school right away but was placed in English for speakers of other languages classes.
“I really didn’t know any English when I came here. I learned English in three months because I didn’t like being in the [English for Speakers of Other Languages] classes,” Vella said with a hint of a defiant smile forming at the corner of her mouth.
Despite her initial setback, Vella excelled academically. In 2012, she graduated in the top 11% of her high school class and went on to matriculate at Samford University in Alabama. There, she triple-majored in pre-medicine, psychology and theater. However, her attendance there only lasted a semester.
“I was burned out,” she said. “The fact that I couldn’t figure out what major I should go with really discouraged me.”
Vella retreated back home to Georgia.
Instead of wandering aimlessly as a college dropout, Vella quickly developed a plan to join the Air Force like her father. However, just being allowed into the military would be an uphill battle.
Vella, like nearly 27% of the population according to military estimates, was too overweight to enlist.
“I gained a lot of weight during high school, and I had to lose about 40 to 50 pounds to enlist,” said Vella.
For nearly two years, Vella pushed herself to lose the extra pounds while she worked at a fast food restaurant.
“I ran three miles and did 100 sit-ups every day,” said Vella. “I wasn’t getting much results because my eating habits were still not where they needed to be. That’s when I buckled down and became really strict about it. I didn’t have any carbs, it was mostly just lean meat, salads and fruit.”
Finally reaching her goal weight, Vella swore into the Georgia Air National Guard on Feb. 8, 2014.
Vella completed all of her initial entry training requirements and became a qualified Air Force services specialist.
On her way home from training, Vella serendipitously met her future husband Christopher, who is an Air Force reservist in Massachusetts, at the airport. The two exchanged numbers and said their goodbyes.
Reminiscent of her own parents’ relationship, Vella and her soon to be husband dated over a long distance. The two only saw each other a couple of times.
“He came to visit me and I visited him once to meet his family,” said Vella.
After only six months, Christopher proposed and the two were married.
“I got married on Saturday,” said Vella. “We went on our honeymoon on Sunday for a week and after we got back, I packed up my things in the car and we started driving up here.”
In order to move to Massachusetts with her husband, Vella had to transfer to Massachusetts National Guard. In doing so, she was able to take advantage of a special program that waives all tuition and fees at state schools for actively drilling Massachusetts National Guardsmen.
She used the benefit at Westfield State University for a year, but transferred into her current program at UMass to participate in the Honors College program there.
Vella’s dedication in the classroom is evident. While her classmates checked Facebook or shopped for a new party outfit online, Vella scribbled notes. She ferociously filled up multiple pages in a three-ring binder.
“She’s great,” said Professor Scott Blinder, assistant professor of political science at UMass, when asked how Vella was as a student. “It’s early, but she’s engaged and a big contributor.”
Outside of the classroom, Vella is the cadet wing commander of her Air Force ROTC detachment.
“She basically runs the entire cadet operations here,” said Air Force Maj. Bradley Podliska, operations flight commander of Air Force ROTC Detachment 370. “It is her responsibility to organize everything from ‘lead lab,’ to physical training, to cadet activities that take place on the weekends.”
Once she finishes her studies, Vella wants to commissions as an Air Force Public Affairs Officer.
“Public Affairs is the face of the Air Force,” said Vella. “They’re the representatives and the liaisons between the military, the media and the community.”
Podliska doesn’t see anything blocking Vella from her dream job. He pointed to the internship she had with NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence this past summer as an example of how prepared she already is for the role.
“She’s perfect for it, she’s a natural,” said Podliska.
With enough credits to graduate this spring, Vella was looking forward to graduating and commissioning. However, life threw an obstacle at her.
At the end of the semester, instead of walking across the stage with her classmates, Vella is scheduled to deploy to Djibouti in support of operations in the region.
“I am a little sad I can’t graduate and commission with my current class,” Vella said.
But even with that disappointment, Vella still finds a silver lining.
“My life after high school has been unconventional, but along the way it has brought many opportunities,” Vella said. “That’s why I embrace it, even if it takes me a little bit longer to accomplish my dream.”
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2018 10:19 |
| Story ID: | 267359 |
| Location: | AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS, US |
| Web Views: | 648 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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