Sisterhood of the Air Force Calls Third Sister

[AuzmansMOM]

A month ago, Ava Tamosuinas of Wayzata faced a tough choice. The 18-year-old senior at Providence Academy, a private Catholic prep school in Plymouth, had won a full Naval ROTC scholarship to the University of Southern California. Aside from being located in a place where it's 70 sunny degrees most of the year, USC is the alma mater of her father, Darrell.


StarTribune.com
by: Gail Rosenblum


But Ava also had received an appointment to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., which offered its own enticements, including state-of-the-art facilities, the stunning Rocky Mountains and the chance to follow the path of Amanda and Alexis, Ava's older sisters.

Ava chose the academy.

Amanda, 23, graduated from the academy in 2008 and is stationed in New Mexico working in logistics. Alexis, who will spend part of the summer at Aviano Air Base in Italy, will graduate from the academy in 2011, which means that she and Ava will overlap for two years. Ava heads to boot camp on June 25.

"There's always a natural curiosity about this," said Darrell, an independent consultant and crisis manager. "People wonder, 'Is one daughter just following the next?' I thought about that, too. But there is such a fundamental leadership component at the academy. Still, I'm hoping for a USC Trojan in graduate school."

Women have been accepted to the Air Force Academy since 1976, but their ranks remain small. Only 16 percent or so of all applicants are chosen; of that number, about 20 percent are female.

And while an Air Force Academy spokesperson calls the Tamosuinas ("Tam-o-shoe-nus") sisters' story "amazing," they are in fact not the first female siblings to share the honor. Eight families have had three or more female siblings at the academy, including two families that have sent four sisters there.

Few people have been more surprised to see all three of the Tamosuinas sisters wind up at the academy than their parents. Darrell and Linda moved to Minnesota from California 18 years ago and have no military background.

[AuzmansMOM]

This article was found in the local newspaper website blog. Congradulation are in order for this family's outstanding accomplisment.


Please go to the link I posted and read some of the comments in the orginal blog post. You may want to respond there as well.

[corpmanlm]

AuzmansMOM,

Thanks for sharing their story.

We want to take the time to wish all the new incoming appointees the best in the year ahead when their journey begins in June, to the upperclass cadets as they continue their journey, and the graduates as they face their future challenges.

With Falcon Pride!

Maureen (and Leonard) Corpman

[packermatt7]

Wow, cool story... Three sisters... that's pretty cool.

The comments I have to say were pretty ignorant and rude...I'm about to go comment right now...

[J.NordicSkier7]

Woo hoo!!! Minnesota!

[packermatt7]

Originally Posted by J.NordicSkier7

Woo hoo!!! Minnesota!

Do you know any of them? That would be cool

[J.NordicSkier7]

I stayed with Alexis's roommate for Orientation and I met Ava at a few MN events for appointees.

[hornetguy]

Hum, a guy that graduated a couple years ahead of me from my high school (I am friends with his sister) dated Amanda while they were both cadets. Small world.

[13BullsOnParade]

Wow, see ya in beast Ava!

[USAFA10s]

that's pretty cool, and I think I have an idea of how thier parent's must feel, if I can go by the reaction mine originally had to the idea