KUNA, Idaho — Two Kuna High School students are headed for the skies after receiving the Air Force Junior ROTC Flight Academy scholarship, which provides recipients a full ride to get their private pilot license.
Julia Taylor and Yarianne Pelayo have received scholarships to attend a private pilot license training program at a partner university in the summer of 2025.
“After I go to college, I was planning on commissioning in the Air Force as an officer just to help people lead, because that’s what I enjoy is leading people,” said Julia Taylor, one of the Kuna High School Juniors who received the scholarship.
Taylor is learning leadership skills as a Deputy Squadron Commander in the Air Force Junior ROTC program.
“I just think it’s kind of crazy that the only Air Force JROTC is in this little small town of Kuna,” Taylor said.
About 90 students take advantage of Idaho’s only Air Force Junior ROTC, a program that teaches everything from science and space to aviation history.
“The real meat of the program is all the other things that we do. We have rocket club, we have drones which are coming in, so they’ll learn how to not just fly drones but program drones. We have a marksmanship program, we do drill, we do color guard," said Lt. Col. Christopher Davis, the Senior Instructor who oversees the Kuna Air Force JROTC program.
The program also opens students up to opportunities like applying for the Air Force Flight Academy Scholarship which gives students a full-ride to becoming a pilot.
“It actually equates to a $27,000 scholarship. It’s an eight-week program, and when they are finished, they will be licensed pilots,” Davis said.
The scholarship covers travel, room and board, academies and flight hours required to obtain a private pilot license.
“With the opportunity of the scholarship, it opens my doors to so many different possibilities and now I can really consider being a pilot, and I just love that for myself and for other students who might consider applying for the scholarship in the future,” said Yarianne Pelayo, one of the Kuna High School Juniors who received the scholarship.
Only 226 scholarships were awarded out of the more than 1,200 cadets who applied.
“I couldn’t believe it initially. I never thought that I would get selected,” Taylor said.
The Flight Academy program aims to address the national civilian and military pilot shortage by inspiring young aviators.
“We know, the airlines know, the Air Force knows, the military knows that we need pilots, and we need the next generation to be inspired to want to fly,” Davis said.
The Kuna Junior ROTC program is raising money to build their own building to further expand learning opportunities for students. You can find a link to where you can support that fundraiser here.
