Come Monday, Jovanna Rojas’s life will revolve around planes. At
4am, Rojas will step onto a commercial jetliner.
Gilroy – Come Monday, Jovanna Rojas’s life will revolve around planes.
At 4am, Rojas will step onto a commercial jetliner. When the 17-year-old Gilroy resident steps off in San Antonio, Texas, she will be transported to a base to become an U.S. Air Force airman basic. As an airman, she will be trained to operate systems that help guide planes. And in six years, when she finishes her stint with the military, Rojas’ involvement with planes will not fade.
“I’m looking forward to being an air traffic controller,” said the 2007 Gilroy High School graduate.
Rojas has a difficult road to weather before she reaches her ultimate career goal. That road starts with six weeks of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, where her superiors will subject her to demanding physical and mental trials.
She got a taste of what is to come when she went to Moffett Field Thursday to meet her commander. He lined up the enlistees in height order and began to yell at them.
“I got a little scared to tell you the truth,” Rojas said. “It’s going to be a lot of mental stuff down there. But I think I’ll be fine – I’m pretty strong-minded.”
After basic training, Rojas will be trained in a technical field, which could take anywhere from two weeks to more than a year. Rojas hopes to pursue a course in space and air control learning systems. At the course’s end, Rojas will know how to operate computers that generate and monitor flight patterns, among other skills.
Once trained, Rojas will spend the remaining time in her six-year contract supporting the Air Force. However, the Air Force deploys only a small percentage of enlistees to an active war zone and few of them come with the training Rojas will receive, she said. The Force’s low deployment rate, while not a factor in Rojas’ decision, pleased her family, she said.
“I know (my parents) wouldn’t have let me join the Army or the Marines,” which have a higher deployment rate, she said.
Gilroy High School teacher Jose Hernandez was similarly supportive of Rojas’ decision to enlist. He was both her soccer coach when she played defense and her advisor as a member of the Latinos Program.
“She’s the first kind of Gilroy High student that I’ve been happy for to join the armed forces,” he said. “Usually I want them to go to a four-year university. For her, it’s something that’s good for her.”
The Air Force’s teaching style matches up well with Rojas’ learning style, Hernandez said.
“Sitting behind a desk is not perfect for her,” he said. “Her strength comes in being able to do physical tasks as well as mental ones. Combining the two is perfect for her.”
While in the Air Force, Rojas will represent more than just herself. She will also represent her aunt, Angelina Rojas, who had dreamed of enlisting since she was a student at Gavilan College several decades ago. She was railroaded by a counselor who refused to approve a schedule that included courses that would lead to military service.
“He patted me on the head and said, ‘People like you are really good at other things,’ ” she said. ” ‘Why don’t you take child development.’ ”
This made Jovanna Rojas’ announcement that she was going to join the Air Force all the more elating, Angelina Rojas said.
“I stopped dead in my tracks,” she said. “I got a big swallow. I just wanted to cry. I cannot tell you how proud I am of that little girl.”
The support from home has helped Jovanna Rojas avoid worrying and feel confident about heading into the Air Force Monday.
“I’m really looking forward to traveling and learning new things,” she said. “I think it will help guide me.”
